


To The Grave (Peter Pan OUAT/Newt TMR Crossover)

by Sky__4__Forever



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Adorable Newt (Maze Runner), Clean Language, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Evil Hades, F/M, Fanfic, Fanfiction, Girl on Neverland, Gladers, Hades - Freeform, How Do I Tag, Hurt Newt Scamander, I'm Bad At Tagging, In the Maze, James Dashner, Love, Neverland, Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Newt (Maze Runner) is a Dork, Newt - Freeform, Newt is a Dork, No Sex, No Smut, OUAT - Freeform, Once Upon A Time, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on Wattpad, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Pan - Freeform, Peter Pan References, Romance, Runner, Runners, Some Spoliers, Tags May Change, The Dark One (Once Upon a Time), The Enchanted Forest (Once Upon a Time), The Glade, The Maze Runner - Freeform, The Underworld, There is a war though, There's not actually that much violence, This somehow has a plot, Underworld (Once Upon a Time), clean, maze, robbie kay - Freeform, thomas brodie sangster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sky__4__Forever/pseuds/Sky__4__Forever
Summary: Abigail Black. She doesn't know where she was born. She doesn't know about her life before the box. She doesn't know anything about herself. Why? She was a glader, that's why. As for now, the gladers are vanishing from the glade as if by magic. First Minho, then Alby, then Thomas, and then her boyfriend, Newt. Determined for find her lost lover, Abby volunteers to offer herself as bait. Yet, the plan doesn't go how she expected and it taken to a magical place called Neverland. But Neverland is not a dream at all, it's a nightmare with survival being a difficult task. In a camp where she is the only girl, will she stay with Newt, or will a new, dark, and enchanting boy, Peter Pan, win her heart? And when a sinister character arises, will she make it out alive to choose?"This is all I need in life" -stedahh"This story is soooooooooo good" -xx_Amzing_Fans_xx"Omg soo good... I'm dying to see how the story pans out" -KenzieAnna123Originally posted to Wattpad, users above's comments came from Wattpad.Disclaimer: Peter Pan/OUAT and the characters from The Maze Runner are not my own.





	1. I Believe

"ABBY!"

Only one boy called me that. My boyfriend. I turned around and faced him. "What is it, Newt? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"It's... it's..." he panted. He put his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. An awful stench of sweat surrounded the area. When he had gotten himself together he said, "Minho! He's gone! The walls have been shut, he couldn't have shucking left the glade... but he's nowhere to be found!"

Minho? He's... gone? How could Minho have disappeared?

"Are you sure? You've looked everywhere? A person can't just grow wings and fly away." I was skeptical. Minho had to be here somewhere!

"Of course we've looked everywhere. Twice, Abby. He's not bloody here!" He fell down in the grass of the Deadheads, hand clutching a side stitch.

I sank down next to him. "You don't think... a griever could have..."

"No," he shook his head wearily, "no, a griever can't get in here. If they could they would have two years ago."

"We'll find him, Newt. Don't worry."

~+~  
We never did. The next night it was Alby, which sent Newt into a tizzy. The third night, Thomas disappeared without a trace. My best friend, Teresa, said she couldn't talk to him in his mind and was afraid he was dead.

It was the eve of the fourth night and Newt had ordered all boys to stay inside. If an emergency was to arise, everyone was to scream as loud as they could and sleep with a knife.

Newt and I went and slept on the top floor of the homestead. The other boys were downstairs and in various buildings around the glade.

In the dead of night I faintly awoke to movement on the bed next to me. I forced my eyes open, much to their dismay. Newt was awake and standing with his back to me. Some sort of a cross between a powder and a smoke floated about two feet off the ground in lines. They swirled around, moving slowly and surrounding the room. I sat up immediately. The green trails swirled around Newt, ever so slowly. They all seemed to come from the window, which was open. A faint breeze blew through the room, gently moving my long, golden hair. There was never wind in the glade. Did I want to know where that breeze was from? Would it scare me to know what the green substance was? Would it kill me to know who caused this?

"Newt?" My clear voice cutting the silence.

He turned, slowly. His eyes seemed out of focus. Oh god, what was wrong with him? He didn't reply. He just turned back to the window at the same speed.

Then he began to walk. He moved towards the window, one foot I front of the other, creeping towards his demise.

And he uttered two words. "I believe."

And with that the green suddenly lurched into action. It came around him and out the window. A dark hand extended towards him.

"No! Stop! Newt, don't! NEWT!" I screamed.

A thud downstairs and footsteps.

The green stuff split it's mass in two. One half threw itself against the door. The door rattled and shifted a bit, but it was useless.

The other half surrounded me, burning like fire.

I screamed out in pain, but my focus remained on Newt. "NEWT DON'T! STOP! DON'T DO IT! NEWT! NEWT, PLEASE!"

He remained in his trance, as if he couldn't hear me. His hand brushed the dark shadowy hand of whatever was outside the window, then grasped it. His body flew forward and he left through the window.

The green left and went after him.

The rest was a blur. The door flew open and Gally, Frypan, Teresa, Chuck, and a load of other gladers ran in. Teresa ran to me, and shouted at them to get the med-jacks.

Faintly, I heard her voice, "Abby? Abby, are you okay? How did you get burned? GET HELP, YOU SHANKS! Abby, Abby it's going to be okay. What happened?" These things were all I heard before everything went dark.

~+~

Voices. People. Movement. The nauseating smell of something like blood. Where the heck am I? 

Then, "Is she awake yet?" That's Teresa's voice.

I opened my eyes. It was way too bright. I was with the Med-Jacks. Teresa appeared next to me.

"Wha...?" I asked drowsily. Then it all came crashing back down into me. Frantically, I shouted, "NEWT! WHERE IS HE?"

Two Med-Jacks came over and grabbed me, holding my arms and legs down in an attempt to stop me from freaking out.

I stopped moving and relaxed, panting. The two boys let me go and Teresa took my hand. "Abby, he's missing, just like Minho, Alby, and Tom."

I felt my heart crumple. He was gone. The love of my life, gone, taken by this weird greenish stuff and a shadow. Teresa wrapped her arms around me. I felt myself unravel. I sobbed and sobbed, and my loving friend held me. The med-jacks left the room quietly.

When my eyes had gone dry and my mind exhausted, I pulled away. "I have an idea."

~+~

The plan was in action.

I stood in the room on the top floor of the homestead. Gally, Frypan, and a few other gladers hid around the room. They all had nets in their hands. Chuck and Teresa were there, too, for moral support.

As if I needed it. The plan is simple: I say, "I believe," and hopefully that shadow will show up. Then, the others will spring out and throw nets over it, trapping the figure. We can then interrogate it and force it to give back the taken.

Frypan snapped his fingers, the cue to start.

I took a deep breath in through my nose and shakily let it out through my mouth. I swallowed to wet my dry throat. Then, I said it.

It was a whisper, barely audible, but enough that everyone in the room could hear in the silent of the night. It was weak and fearful, but it was enough.

"I believe,"

The window unlatched. It came open, almost silent. That warm breeze wafted in. I could smell tropical smells: the sea, flowers, palm trees. The green slowly entered the room, at the ready. It floated around me, so peacefully. It seemed magical, beautiful. One tendril came towards me and swirled around me. Suddenly, visions of an island appeared, crisp and clear. I could almost feel the sand in my toes. Then a hand reached out. A shadow with electric blue eyes.

I was yanked out of the dream by Gally, who pulled me back, away from the shadow. The boys hurled their nets over the shadow, but they passed through it.

Laughing, it lunged forward and grabbed my wrist, pulling. Gally grabbed my arm and threw his whole body weight into keeping me there. Everyone joined in, but the green mist pounced and threw them back.

The shadow flew away into the night, taking me with it. We rose higher and higher, above the homestead, above the maze. I had never seen the maze before. It was so much bigger than I had ever guessed.

The last thing I heard was my best friend screaming blood murder for me, "ABBY!"


	2. Reunified

The shadow and I rose higher and higher into the sky, the world seeming to extinguish below me.

When the clouds parted, we came upon an island, the same island I had seen in my fantasy. It appeared lush and green, the sea seemed calm, the beach full of white sand with pleasant weather.

I admired the land and didn't notice for a second that the shadow had let go of me. Then, I was tumbling through the air, headed towards that white sand beach I had marveled at. I wasn't eager to make contact with it, now.

Finally, I hit the beach with a thud. It didn't hurt as much as I expected. Still, my body ached all over. I didn't want to move my limbs, not one bit. So I didn't. I just lay there, exhausted and defeated.

Then I heard a low and scratchy voice, "There! The fifth lost boy in a row, Peter, and they all know each other. That's no coincidence! Your shadow must be getting them all from the same place. A bad place."

A deep and smooth voice answers. "We'll discuss this in a private area. In the meantime let's get the lad back to camp."

I was still too tired to move. The sand shifted and I heard a gasp. "Peter! Come look at this!"

"What is it?" The boy, Peter, seems concerned. More sand moving. "My god, Felix... it's a girl!"

~+~

I sat, tied to a tree in the middle of the woods, awaiting the two boys, Felix and Peter, to come to decide what to do with me. I had worked up the strength to ask to see Newt or Minho or Thomas, even Alby. They hadn't said a word and ignored everything I said, though I could tell that they were on edge.

I sat there for hours. There was a disturbance in the leaves to my left. The two boys emerged. I had come to identify the one with very green eyes as Peter Pan. I experienced a tug, like a memory just out of reach, when I heard that name. Perhaps I knew this boy, maybe not. All I knew was that he was definitely attractive, yet he had an aura of death.

As for Felix, he was intimidating, to say the least. He was blonde and tall, with a cloak constantly covering his face. He always carried a wicked looking club that appeared as though it could crack my skull with a firm swing.

Peter spoke first. "What is your name?"

I considered my options. I could:

A. Tell him and hope for the best

Pros: I (hopefully) won't get killed.  
Cons: He may use it against me

B. Refuse to speak

Pros: He doesn't have any information to use against me   
Cons: He might hurt me

C. Give him a fake name

Pros: I probably won't be killed or harmed   
Cons: If he detects a lie, he might injure me

My options weren't looking good. The best was C.

"Thalia," I replied and went quiet.

He looked me over for a moment, studying my body language and my facial expressions. He growled, "Your real name." Adding emphasis on 'real.'

If he saw through that lie of steel, I was doomed. "Abigail. Abigail Elizabeth Black." Now I had told him my name. I hoped it didn't backfire. It probably would, knowing my luck.

He nodded, approving of my answer. "Where are you from?"

"A place called the glade." I began. It launched into a full-scale description of the glade and along with it, the maze.

When I had concluded he just asked his next question as if he had heard the story before. He probably had, from Minho, Alby, Thomas, and Newt.

"How did you get here?"

"I said, 'I believe,' and that shadowy thing came and took me here. It dropped me on the beach." Isn't that how everyone got here?

He examined me for any signs of lying again before saying, "You are the first ever girl on Neverland."

"I was the first girl in the glade, too. I'm used to it." I was the only female, then Teresa came along and I had a best friend. It was a relief.

The boy, Peter, went into an explanation of Neverland and the Lost Boys and all of the things related to the topics. It was fascinating, really, but I didn't mention my interest. That was partly because he had made it clear that he was in power, that he wouldn't hesitate to kill me or anyone else, that he was notorious.

"Now then, you're coming to camp. I don't see any reason not to make you a lost boy, or rather, lost girl. Don't think I'll treat you differently because of your gender." he threatened, "Don't you dare step out of line."

With that phrase looming over me, he produced a knife from thin air. His hand swung down in one blur of motion, slicing through the ropes. The cord fell around my feet. I gingerly stepped over it before Felix grabbed my left wrist. He dragged me through the thick jungle with Pan in the lead for what seemed like forever. I tried to keep track of the thousands of turns we made but it was a lost cause. The foliage all looked the same and the occasional rock in the path wasn't much to go on.

After another turn, I realized that we came to a clearing with tents, crates, a large fire and a ton of boys running around. Up in the trees were tons of tree houses connected by bridges, ropes, and zip lines made of vines and sticks. To get up in the trees there were ladders of wood, ladders of rope, hanging ropes, and stakes driven into trees, like a rock wall. It looked like fun.

The boys around the camp stopped what they were doing, one by one until it was silent, and the whole camp was gawking at me. Glancing down, I wasn't wearing anything revealing. It was a simple brown dress. The cloth was jagged at the edges, but it would do. The shoulders went over my shoulder loosely, the end of the dress came to my knees. It was tighter in the top and then went out to a pleated skirt. It was tied with a green sash and I had a green ribbon holding my long hair in a high ponytail. Although it didn't match that well, I had on black combat boots. I didn't understand what they were looking at. It's not like my face was perfect. I mean, I was dirty and exhausted and I haven't worn makeup since I awoke in the glade. I wasn't a sight for sore eyes. It must have been the fact that I was the only girl. Ever. In the entire history of Neverland, which was quite extensive according to Pan.

Their leader spoke, "Boys! We have our first girl on Neverland! Abigail Elizabeth Black. She came from the glade along with the four newest boys. Someone go get those four from the training area."

A small, slightly chubby boy that reminded me of Chuck ran off along a path in the back right corner of the camp. The boys started whispering amongst themselves until the boy returned with Minho, Alby, And Thomas behind. Then he came out. Newt. He immediately made eye contact with me but didn't run to me. I didn't blame him. Who knew what would happen to him if he showed that kind of weakness, this place seemed harsh.

Pan dismissed the boys after his announcement. The hooligans mostly ran along the path that Minho, Alby, Thomas, and Newt came from. The rest went to tents and tree houses, around the fire, and miscellaneous areas around the camp.

Pan and Felix left to do whatever a leader and his second in command do. The gladers sprinted towards me, all hugging at once in a jumble of greetings.

"Thank god you guys are safe! We thought you were dead!" A few tears slipped my eyes as I said that, reflecting on the hopeless feeling that I experienced when Newt was gone.

"So we heard," Minho replied absently. "How is the glade? In chaos?"

"You guessed it," I grimaced, "with Newt and Alby gone I took charge but that didn't work very well considering that I'm here, and the glade is far far away. Like, on Earth."

Thomas nodded. "How's Teresa? Is she panicked? I can't communicate with her."

"Not good. She's upset, crying a lot. You'll probably never see her again so it seems appropriate to spill the secret: she likes you. Like, a lot."

"Of course she does, she's my closest friend."

"No, shuck-face," Ably snapped, "as in a crush!"

Thomas went red and hurriedly said, "So you're the first girl on Neverland?"

"I guess. Do you guys know what is going on here?" I asked, feeling unfathomably low.

"Pan is in the highest position of power. He's got dark magic, like, seriously dangerous magic." Minho explained. "Like, there's no chance of survival if he wants to kill you. So he runs this camp of boys, now with one girl, as killing machines. He'll kill the weak and force the strong to be stronger. We're enemies with the pirates. The pirates are led by Captain Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook. He gets his name because he has a hook for a hand, cut off by the dark one. Pan won't talk about the dark one much."

"Why does Peter hate Captain Hook so much?"

"Shh!" Newt hushed, "Abby, if anyone calls him by his first name, he'll kill them! Refer to him as Pan."

"He's all the way across the camp," I gestured, "he can't hear me."

Alby shook his head, "He knows everything that happens on this island. And no one can leave unless he lets them."

I shuddered, but Newt took up finishing Minho's explanation. "Anyway, no one knows why he hates the pirates. He just does. But he keeps them alive just to fight them. He bloody toys with people, like a game. It's pure evil. He lives for the game. He's immortal, too. Everyone on Neverland is."

"Not really." Thomas interjected, "We stay young forever. But we can die. Pan can't die, but we can." He continued the information. "That aside, daily life looks like this: we wake up when Pan blows a conch shell. We all get up and collect wood. Then, we light it by rubbing sticks together. We all eat the food we hunted and harvested yesterday. You can warm it up or cook it, boil water in those clay pots," He pointed to a crate filled with bowls, plates, and pots made from clay. "Or bake or whatever. Then, when you finish, you go down to the lake and fetch water. After that, you hunt and harvest. There are eatable plants all over Neverland that you can pick, animals are plentiful. Hunting isn't a problem. Then you take all your food to your tent or tree house depending on where you bunk. There's four to each treehouse and two per tent. Not all the tents and tree houses are for housing, but 3/4 are."

Newt took up the conversation. "After you get food and water, it's off to training. You train until the sun reaches its highest point. Then, Pan will blow the conch shell: signaling you to go get your food, which you then can use the fire on to do whatever you feel necessary and eat. Then it's the same routine: water, food, train. At the next blow of the shell is dinner. You eat, get water, and get food for breakfast the next morning. When everyone is back from getting food, we get more wood for the fire and dance into the night. Sometimes, Pan will play his pipes for us. Whenever you are tired, you can go to bed. But once Pan sends the boys that stay up late to bed, everyone has to stay in bed, no exceptions. I recommend using the bathroom before bed."

"What if I do get up?" That was a stupid rule. What if I really had to pee?

Minho's eyes darkened, "You die."Oh. Well then. I didn't keep talking. Minho did. "Anyway, rules. Don't run away, don't get out of bed, obey Pan at all times, obey Felix, and there are a few less important ones."

I thought back to what they said about living in either a tree house or a tent. "Where do I live?"

Thomas shrugged. "Ask Felix, he'll give you somewhere."

"Speaking of Felix," I added, "where does he live? And Pan?"

Newt pointed to a giant tent nearby. "That giant tent is Pan and Felix's. It's forbidden to go inside." Interesting.

"Oh. Well, anyway, thanks, guys. I missed you. I'm going to go ask Felix about where I'll sleep." I graciously told them.

A chorus of goodbyes followed me as I left to go speak with Felix.

"Felix?"

The blond turned, scary as ever. He didn't reply, just made a sound that told me to continue.

"Um, so, I was wondering... where will I sleep?" I nervously twisted my hands behind my back. Talking to Felix was no easy task.

He seemed to think for a moment, then told me to wait there, and left. In a moment he returned with the leader, in a heated discussion, too, it seemed. Pan made one final statement and then they both went quiet. Clearly angry at each other, they came towards me.

Pan spoke, "Well, Miss Black, I believe that you will be sleeping in that treehouse," He pointed to one not far from his tent. "You will be rooming with one person, currently, until more show up. His name is Newt, I believe you have met before."

"Okay. Thank you." I mindlessly shrugged him off.

I turned to leave, but he caught my arm. "No funny business, understood?"

I made a face and yanked my arm away. "Of course not!" And I left.

A rope ladder led to a trapdoor in the bottom of the wooden structure. I swung the door open and clambered into the room. Newt was training so I was alone to examine the place. The door came up in the center of the back wall. The trunk of the tree ran through the center of the room, but the space wasn't limited. The bed to my left had things strewn about it, like weapons and a few books. Next to it were a table and a candle. The table had a drawer to store things in and at the foot of the bed was a trunk with two latches. A wooden desk and chair were in the middle between the bed that was clearly Newt's and the one in the far left corner. Above the desk was a window. There was another window between the far left and right beds, a third between the far right and closer one to the right. The other beds all had one trunk and a table but were clean.

I walked over to the bed in the far right to set my stuff down on the patched, fraying, ugly blankets. The pillow was a wad of cloth. So... not a five-star hotel. That's okay. It's a bed and I'm willing to take it.

I was just finishing getting set up when A knock came from the trapdoor. "Uh... come in."  
I shouted.

The door swung open and in came Pan. "Miss Black, I am informing you that tomorrow, you will carry on like any other lost boy. Felix will see to your training until he finds you in good shape, then it will be up to you to stay that way. If you fall behind, he'll train you again, harder. Understood?"

I understood perfectly, but I was aggravated. I wasn't what you would call fit, I hated physical activity. I wasn't overweight, in fact, I was underweight, I just wasn't made for that. For me, I was brilliant, that's how I fight. With my head, with my willpower. "Um... well..." I hesitated. Should I tell him? "Pan, I'm not exactly the kind that fights with my fists. I outwit my opponents. Must I train with everyone else?"

He seemed surprised but quickly brushed it off. "No, as well-worded and convincing as that logic was, you're not going to be treated differently."

With that, he left. Great. This is going to suck.


	3. Life Goes On

"No. I refuse to get up this early."

"Abby, come on. Pan's gonna be mad! Get up."

"No. He can't make me do anything."

"Love, please, wake up. Come on!"

I gently smacked his arm. "No, Newt, no."

He sighed a great, heaving sigh. Then, his arms were around me, dragging me out of bed. He swung me up bridal style and set me down on the floor. Newt rummaged through my trunk and threw me clothes that Pan had provided. Pan had given me all the essentials I needed. Clothes, some books, food for breakfast since I didn't hunt yesterday, weapons, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and even a nice necklace. It had a small silver moon on a silver chain. I found it lovely. He had also given me some soap, ribbons to tie back my hair, paper, ink, and a few feathered pens. It was a generous amount of stuff. I needed to remember to thank him.

"Come on, Abby. Get ready, I'll see you at breakfast." The trapdoor swung shut behind him before I could object.

~+~

I reached a conclusion: Newt cannot match clothes. Blue t-shirts don't work with gray, pleated skirts. Even I know that and I'm not fashionable.

I threw on clothes that matched: a green tank top, black leggings, denim jacket, combat boots, and I braided my hair, secured with a black ribbon.

Breakfast wasn't one of my shining moments. Pan had given me some meat I didn't recognize, a few unfamiliar plants, and a jug of water. I just stabbed the meat with one of the spears he gave me and put it over the fire. The wooden stick quickly caught fire, and in my surprise, I dropped it and the whole thing went up in flames. So I was left with a couple of random plants, some water, and a bunch of laughing boys. I hoped, so, so hoped, that I was eating the plants right. Do you eat the outside? Do you eat the center? Who knows!

Some tasted awful but I didn't have much. Frypan, who arrived last night, had cooked some sort of stew and all of the boys just watched him as he ate it, silently wishing they could have some.

At least I didn't embarrass myself when I got water. Which is not saying much because getting water isn't that hard.

And now my dilemma was hunting.

I scanned my corner of the tree house, wondering which weapon to use. Sword, eh. Knife, I'll take it with. Throwing knife, can't use that. Spear, considering the incident at breakfast, I'm going to steer clear of spears for a while. A club, too clunky. Crossbow, I guess it'll work. Then I saw it. Hidden under all of the weapons it lay: the most beautiful longbow I had ever seen. Upon pulling it out I discovered that it was made of ebony wood, polished until I could see my own ocean blue eyes reflecting back at me. The string was secured tightly but I drew it back with no problem. The string was silver and shining in the light of the sun streaming through the window. Small silver carvings of vines snaked along the wood, their leaves dainty and perfect.

"My god..." I murmured. "I love it."

Hold up. If there was a bow...

I started digging through the weapons, tossing things everywhere until I found it. A quiver chock-full of arrows. I drew one and gasped. It was ebony wood with a silver head and black feathers at the end. Maybe from a raven or a crow. Along it was carvings of vines, just as elegant as the ones on the bow. I went to put the arrow back when I saw noticed something. On the tip was a small drop of a wine colored liquid. Dreamshade. All of the arrows were dipped in dreamshade! Bingo!

I shifted my attention to the quiver itself. It was jet black and leather, it seemed. Painted on were vines. Although they weren't carved, they were still flawless, each leaf, each stem, all of it painted on without error. The vines were all around it, utterly beautiful.

This is officially my favorite weapon in all of existence.

I swung the quiver over my back and, bow in hand made my way down the rope ladder, which is saying something considering I only had one hand.

I pulled out the knife I had grabbed from the chest and started through the leaves to find a place to wait for an animal. The knife was simple, a silver blade with a black handle. It had one blue gem on the handle but otherwise was plain. I liked it, it matched my bow and arrows.

I sliced through yet another palm leaf when I saw the perfect tree. I quickly climbed it and sat in its branches. I had a great view! Quickly, I knocked an arrow and drew the string back, watching, waiting, for something to kill.

"Hey! This is where I hunt!"

I jumped and let go of the arrow, which flew and landed with a thunk into a nearby tree. I whirled and faced a lost boy with chocolate hair and ashen gray eyes. He did not look happy.

I narrowed my eyes. "Not anymore. I'm not leaving, beat it." This kid was not taking the best spot I had seen in miles.

He scowled. "Just cause you're the first girl on Neverland doesn't mean you can waltz in here and take my hunting spot."

"Why don't you lay off. What's your name, anyway?" I shot back.

"Baelfire."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I laughed hard. "Yeah, oh man. That's the worst name I have ever heard! Who names a kid Baelfire?" I burst into hysterics again at his name.

"My papa, that's who." His eyes got misty. Oh no, pull it together Abby, pull it together!

"I'm sorry," I sighed, "I didn't mean to make you cry."

He gulped and wiped his eyes. "I'm not crying, don't say that. Pan hears everything. Oh, and you can call me Bae. Everyone does."

"But then it wouldn't be original. Can I call you Fire?"

He smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess. You can hunt here if you want. We can hunt together."

"That sounds good to me!"

I now had a friend from Neverland. Maybe it wasn't all that bad here...

~+~

Dirt covered my shoes. I was exhausted. Everything was miserable. I hadn't even started training yet. Hunting was a success but I was so done. All I wanted was to sleep!

It was a nice day, cool and appealing. Dew dotted the grass and a breeze blew through with smells of the sea and of tropical flowers.

Pan was with one boy pointing to the target and the longbow in the boy's hand. Pan took the bow, aimed and shot a bullseye.

I raised my bow and knocked an arrow. A few lost boys, including Pan, turned and whispered. Their eyes turned to watch as I aimed. My thoughts focused in on the arrow that Pan had perfectly shot. All I could see was the end of the arrow. Sounds turned to silence, the movement turned to stillness. The arrowhead was lined up perfectly. I released the silver string.

One blink and I was back to reality. Everyone was staring at the target. I had split Pan's arrow down the middle. The exact middle.

He silently drew back another arrow and sent it flying through the center of mine with a splintering sound. Was he challenging me?

The lost boys started whispering. They were onto the game Pan was playing.

My fingers slid along the string until I removed them and swiftly grasped the end of an arrow. It slid in perfectly and I drew it back. The string pushed on the pads of my fingers but I didn't care. I felt Pan's eyes the color of emerald boring into my skull but I shrugged it off and let myself fall in between fantasy and reality again, seeing the path the arrow would take. No, that's off. I shifted my bow the slightest bit to the left, paused, and then the arrow was gone. When I came back, there it was in Pan's, just like last time.

He grumbled and shot again, splitting my arrow.

Unfortunately for him, I was in the zone. My arrow was out of the quiver and in his in five seconds.

It took everyone a minute to realize that I already shot. And succeeded.

Arrow after arrow hit their mark, on and on and on.

It was my turn to shoot and just as I was releasing the arrow, I saw Newt in my peripherals. How the heck did he get that cut? His cheek was well sliced, and he had a hand to it. Scarlet liquid seeped between his fingers.

Was that an elephant dancing in my stomach?

I was drawn to reality when I heard exclamations from all of the Lost Boys. Why were they-? Oh. Oh, that's why. My arrow had missed by a hair and only grazed the side of Pan's. He smirked and swaggered back to where ever he came from. The Lost boys went back to training loudly. Felix was approaching me for training but I sprinted straight to my boyfriend.

"Newt! Oh my god, are you okay? Well, that's a dumb question, clearly not... what happened? Ah never mind save the energy. To our tree house, now," I rambled.

A warm but harsh hand grabbed my forearm. "You've got training, Black. Let Newt deal with himself. He deserved it."

Oh no, you didn't! "Deserved it? I think not! What the heck made him deserve this?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Felix chuckled lightly to himself. "Why don't you tell her?" He kicked Newt's shin. His bad one.

Just as I was about to punch Felix, Newt spoke. "I disobeyed Pan's direct orders. I shouldn't have done that, but I did, so I paid for my actions."

I blinked. Huh? Uh, who are you and what have you done with Newt? "What orders were they?"

"He was assigned to assist in an ambush on the pirates. He was supposed to stab the first pirate, but he said he wouldn't do it," Felix sneered. How could they try to make him do that? "Anyway, regardless of Newton's situation, you have training, Miss Black."

And with that, Felix took me away. 

~+~

The stench of stomach bile filled the air as I spilled my guts into the bushes. That's what happens with Felix. He pushes you past your physical limitations.

"That's enough. Lunchtime, Black." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand and was gone.

Thank god! I was starving.

I grabbed the meat I had taken from a deer that morning and was able to cook it. Oh, sweet mother of protein!

The plants Fire had shown me weren't awful, and I downed them quickly. When I was finished, all the meat was gone, no plants remained, and my water pot was empty.

Off I went to fetch water and spill half of it on the way back.

As I set down my jug and wiped my brow, I spotted Fire setting his down.

"Fire!" I eagerly ran over.

"Abigail!" He flashed that smile. That smile that shines like the sun. I was glad he was my friend. He seemed a lot less corrupt than the others.

"Want to hunt together again?" I offered.

He accepted, and soon we found ourselves dragging a deer back to split at dinner.

~+~

The next thing I knew, darkness had settled over Neverland. Tranquility echoed through the forest.

More wood went up in flames, sparks dancing like magic on the smoky air.

Then came the melody, soft and haunting, enveloping my heart and moving me to dance. So dance I did. I danced in a whirlwind of percussion, the pipes bringing forth the low, ancient song of the lost.

~+~

"I think that was the best night I have ever had!" I laughed as Newt and I ascended into our tree house.

My nightgown slide over me, silky, pearly, cool, a perfect end to a night on an island.

The smell of wood smoke lingered in the air, and the feel of the clean sheets over my body was paradise.

It was a flawless depiction of happiness, of peace, and relaxation. This was what it meant to feel completely safe, happy, and utterly peaceful.

Sleep soon overtook my mind. It ran through my veins and led me into dreams of a beautiful future on Neverland. Heaven in a sea of Hell.

If only my dreams were a reality.


	4. Nightmares

The nightmares came with a smile. The dream world showed me a blissful scene where Newt and I lazed about by a creek, eating a picnic in the sun. And then, the sky went dark. The sun was gone and it looked like the dead of night. There I saw him, the shadow of death falling over the field by the water. The water slowed, turned to blood, and began flowing in reverse, up hill. The earth trembled and the sky split open. People collapsed, their limbs and organs thrown across the ground by some invisible monster. It got closer and closer to me until it wasn't invisible. I saw Pan's emerald eyes and then blood. My blood. My dead body. My dead body next to Newts. Pan just laughed and moved on, demolishing all that lay before him.

I screamed and sat up in bed, heart pounding. Newt got up and ran over. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Abby, love, talk to me!"

"I..." I gasped for air, "I'm okay, just a nightmare."

Newt sat down next to me on the bed and wrapped his strong arms around my torso. Moonlight glinted off the mirror and cast light on his face. I didn't have any more nightmares for a week.

But then nightmares came back, eventually becoming nigh terrors. No matter what they didn't go away. It was always the same thing: Newt and I, happy, and then Pan killing everything... and the sky rips open and people die plus the river is blood and it's horrible.

Then one night, it changed.

I was alone in a dark room. It was pitch black and I had no idea what was going on. Then a bright light flicked on and shone down on me like a spotlight. It made the room slightly move visible, but only for a couple feet. I could see a chair to my left and nothing on the right. But if anything was in the shadows, they could definitely see me.

My eyes caught movement behind me, and I whipped around. A person with a shimmering silver cloak came forward. The silver reflected in the light, but the person had a hood pulled over their face.

I finally found my voice, "Who are you?"

The figure came closer before stopping about three yards/meters away from me. It lifted a feminine looking hand and pulled back the hood to reveal a girl my age. She was beautiful to say the least. She had shimmering blonde hair that cascaded down her back in waves. Her skin was perfect, which I envied, and her lips were a flawless shade of pink. The cloak concealed the rest of her body, but she had pretty hands and the cloak looked good on her. The most noticeable feature, however were sharp silver eyes that peered back at me with intensity.

She finally spoke in a lilting voice that fit her quite well. "My name is Delphilia. Delphilia Sew. And you are Abigail Black, Pan's girl."

I shook my head, "No, no, no, I'm not romantically involved with him, not at all. Newt-"

"You're Newton's?" She asked.

She was starting to bug me. "No! I don't belong to anyone."

"You will."

I didn't know what to say. How is one supposed to reply to that? Luckily, I didn't have to because she spoke again. "Abigail Black, you have thirteen days until I come for you. When I do, you will be enslaved until the work kills you."

"What? Why?" My heart was beginning to beat faster.

"I'm a spirit of a girl Pan once killed and I have made it my goal to slowly take all he cares for and destroy it." She answered. She pulled out a knife and began to inspect it as we talked.

"Pan doesn't care for me!" I protested, "He hates me! He hates everyone!"

"Ah, but he doesn't. He has fallen for you, and if you admit it to yourself, despite the nightmares, you've fallen for him, too." She calmly replied.

"No!" I shouted back at her, "I love Newt!"

She smiled, "Yes, you love him, too. You love them both, and you must choose."

"Whatever, we can squabble about my love life later. The important thing is that you're gong to come and enslave me in 13 days and keep me enslaved until it kills me because you hate Pan? You want to make him upset because of what he did so you're going to kill me?" The idea was absurd. Surely this girl wasn't stupid, she knows that it's not fair.

"Yes. 13 days, Miss Black, and then I will find you."

She took the knife she had been inspecting and hurled it at me, right at my heart. But right before it pierced my chest, I awoke.

I sat up in bed again, but didn't scream. Deliphilia Sew was going to come for me and I needed to be prepared. I leapt from bed, ignoring the sleeping Newt and ran to Pan's tent. I needed serious magic to defeat a ghost.


	5. Preperations

"So you're telling me that a ghost is going to go crazy and kill you."

"Yes."

"And said ghost is doing this because she wants to get revenge on me."

"Yep."

"And apparently, I killed this ghost when she was a person."

"Mhmm."

"And now she's crazy powerful."

"Sounds about right."

Pan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I had told him the whole story, except for the part about my love life. I didn't need that drama. So now we were sitting in his tent. I had to wake him up and now he's on the edge of his bed and I was across from him in a chair.

As for me, when I woke up I was in such a panic that I didn't change out of my night gown, I had just thrown on a cloak. I looked crazy but Pan didn't mention it. I was slightly thankful for that.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked softly, afraid of his answer.

He lifted his piercing green eyes to mine. "Of course there is. We're not going to sit around and do nothing. We'll begin preparations in the morning. For now, I don't trust you being alone. You'll stay the night here. You can have the bed, I'm going to start researching some magic that might help us." He got up and sat down at his desk right next to the bed, pulling out an ancient looking book.

"Actually," I corrected, "I wouldn't be alone in my treehouse. Newt's there."

Pan looked up from his book. "Well, when Newt has magic strong enough to destroy a continent or two, then you can stay there. Until then, you're not leaving." And he turned back to the book.

I sighed, giving in. It's true that as much as I love Newt, Pan could protect me better. So I took off my cloak and threw it over the chair. Then I slipped off my shoes and crawled into the bed. It was a lot more comfortable than it looked. It sort of felt like clouds, not that I knew what that felt like, but if I had been on a cloud, this is probably what it'd feel like.

It wasn't long before I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

~+~

I awoke to the sounds of metal clanging against metal. Sword against sword...

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. There were countless books, papers, maps, charts, and documents scattered across the desk where Pan had sat last night. Hundreds of balled up pieces of paper littered the floor. I stopped and picked one up. After fixing it, I scanned the page. It had a drawing of Neverland with arrows, symbols and stick figures on it. A battle plan? Unfolding another one revealed yet another picture of Neverland, with different symbols and figures on it. Yeah, definitely battle plans.

I started making the bed as a courtesy, and noticed fresh clothes on the foot of the bed. Thank goodness, I thought I would have to walk through camp in a nightgown. Yes, the nightgown was pretty. It was silk and looked more like a dress. It had floral designs sewn into it, subtle but visible. It flowed and rippled around me as I walked. But a night gown is still a night gown, and I don't want to wear it through camp.

After adjusting my new shirt, I ran outside, feeling energy swell up inside me. Every single lost boy was training harshly, with Pan and Felix training each other. I quickly found Newt amongst them, doing sprints to make up for his limp. The poor thing...

"Newt!" I shouted, running over. Not many lost boys looked up, they were all intensely focusing. Only Pan looked over. Well, besides Newt, of course.

"Abby! Bloody hell, when Pan told us I was so scared..." He clasped one of my hands with his and let his other hand stroke through my hair and pull me in for a quick kiss.

"What? What did Pan tell you?" Did Pan actually tell the boys about Delphilia?

"That ghost!" He exclaimed, running his hand down the side of my face and onto my upper arm. "Pan told us she's after you and what she wants. She wants to kill you, Abby! Why else would every single lost boy AND Pan be training so vigorously?"

"That's why they're training like this? To protect me?" I was astonished! They all are going to fight... to defend me?

"Yeah," Newt lovingly murmured, "Pan doesn't have the plan worked out yet but he will. In the meantime, we're also going to master as much as possible. No newbies are coming in until that Delphilia girl is gone. Pan doesn't have time for them, he's going to make us as strong as possible. Don't worry, love, I'll defend you." He stole another kiss and pulled back.

I was just about to tell him that I could defend myself just fine when Pan came over and grabbed Newt's wrist on his right hand, the same hand he was stroking my hair with. Pan yanked his hand away from me.

"Distracted, Newt?" He asked darkly.

Newt shook his head. "No, Pan, I'll get back to training."

Pan released his wrist with a jerk. Newt let go of my other hand and rubbed his wrist, scampering off with Minho and Thomas to keep training.

Pan turned his predatory gaze to me. "Until Delphilia is defeated, you're not to leave my side. I also don't what you around any lost boys too much, in case Delphilia decides to manipulate them. We don't need to deal with traitors."

"What if I don't want to stay by your side?" I met his eyes with determination that quickly was extinguished when I saw his face.

A slow smile spread across his lips. "You're joking, right?"

"No..."

His smile disappeared. "You're going to stay with me. Who knows where Delphilia could strike next? You're staying near me and that's final. Resume, Felix."

Pan and Felix trained and trained and trained. It seemed to go on for eternity, only stopping to eat and use the bathroom. When Pan was in the restroom, Felix watched me and vise versa. Pan had insisted on following me into the bathroom but one harsh glare on my part and he let me go alone.

Days passed and I had slowly begun to revaluate the way I saw Peter Pan. Yes, he was a jerk, but I spent so much time with him that I saw that he cared about me, and if I admitted it to myself, I had some feelings for him too. Was Delphilia telling the truth? Did he love me? Did I love him? Did I love Newt? Must I choose? Who did my heart desire more? Was there a preference?

I pondered these deep thoughts as I sat in the shade of a tree. Pan was sparring with Felix about ten feet away. Although Pan won every time, Felix was clearly improving, all the lost boys were. I looked back down to the grass that I had been tying in knots, a slow and delicate process.

This was the 9th afternoon, Delphilia would be here in a mere four days. It almost seemed impossible, yet at the same time it seemed all too real.

"Abby!" Pan ran back to me and held out his hand. I didn't need to ask what he wanted, because we had already done this so many times. I just passed him his water and took it back as he returned to Felix, who was polishing off his water.

Truthfully, it made my insides twist whenever he came to me for his water. It's so insignificant in the great expands of things, but it was important to me.

I was deeply in love with Newt.

But at the same time, I was madly in love with Peter Pan.


	6. Indecision

Three days left. I only have three days before Delphilia is here to kill me. What have I gotten myself into? If I had never gone after Newt, I would never have ended up in Neverland and I would never have met Peter Pan and some crazy lunatic ghost wouldn't be chasing me and trying to kill me.

Really, the whole situation is laughable. Maybe that's just my warped mind or maybe I'm a psychopath or maybe I'm going crazy, I don't know, but it truly seems funny when I don't think about my death in three days.

Then again my predicament seems impossible. A ghost? And Peter Pan? And Neverland? Not to mention we're trying to kill someone who's already dead, which we shouldn't have to do it the first place, if she's dead. Which brings up the question: is she dead? Or not? I guess ghosts are dead, but yet they're kind of alive. So is Delphilia dead? Can a dead person even murder an alive person? Can things pass through her? If so, how is she going to hold a knife? How will our weapons work against her? Maybe she's not the kind of ghost I'd expect. After all, Peter Pan wasn't anything I expected, so why should a ghost be? Why am I asking so many questions?

So many questions...

So, so, so many questions...

On another note, there's still my conflict in my love life. Newt or Pan? I mean, I'm already with Newt so that's less complicated. Also, I've been with Newt for forever. He showed me around the glade. He held me and cared for me when I was scared of grievers. Newt was the one that would kiss me lightly every morning and tell me I was pretty. He was the one that kissed me first. He was my protector. He was the one that took my virginity. We go way back, and our roots run deep. He is completely in love with me, and I am head over heels in love with him. How could I just turn my back on him?

But Pan is amazing. His eyes captivate me and he stayed up all night planning defensive strategies for me. He kept me close to him so that he would know I'm alright. He had the whole camp training day and night because he cared about me. And if I admitted it to myself, I'm desperately in love with Peter Pan as well. How can I just turn my back on him?

Crap, what now? Do I choose one? Do I choose neither? Do I keep my feelings buried and just go on with Newt? Or is that the same thing as choosing one of them? Can I have both? No, that's crazy. But what if I could? What if I just-

"Abby!" I jumped and nearly had a heart attack. Pan was running over to me, and waking me up from my daydream.

"What, Pan?" I asked , clearly letting him know that I was annoyed. I really needed thinking time!

He stopped running and smirked at me. "Peter. You can call me Peter. Just not around the other boys."

"Okay, well, what do you want, Peter." I corrected in a sassy tone.

"I've got to keep working on the plans, come on." Lately, Peter has been working extremely hard on the plans for the battle. I honestly found it adorable that he cares about making sure that I'm safe. He would stay up late at night and rise early in the morning to work on these plans, and he would work with vigor. 

I trudged after him as he went into his tent and collapsed in a chair by his desk to read while he worked. The scribble of pens and the crumpling of paper filled hours of my day until I had to request a candle so that I could keep reading. Night fell over the campground, and finally I set down my book. 

"I'm going to go to bed." I told Peter, who had been hunched over his desk until he heard my voice. He jumped at the sound, as if he had forgotten I was in the room. 

"Okay." He continued working with less speed than before, but his intensity was something I found attractive... No, Abby! You can't think like that! 

I slipped off my shoes and threw back the covers on Peter's bed, like I had done this whole time. I always got the bed, Peter always slept on the floor. I felt bad kicking him out of his own bed, and I had tried to tell him I'd sleep on the floor, but he insisted it was fine. I guess if he wants to sleep on the floor, I'm not a bad person, right?

Just as I was about to get into bed, I heard his voice say, "Wait."

I looked up, startled. I didn't expect him to leave his little zone that he got in when he was working hard. Now that his concentration had broken, his sharp green eyes were looking into my shiny blue ones. He stood and pushed the chair back in under the desk and approached me. "Abby, I have to tell you something."

I nearly felt my soul break. "It's Delphilia, isn't it? We can't beat her? We can't stop her? I- I'm going to die, right?"

"No," Peter gasped, "not at all! I was going to tell you something else."

"Oh," was all I could muster. 

I became extremely aware of how close Peter was to me. I could faintly feel his breath on me, and caught the smell of mint in it. As for his body itself, I could smell wood smoke and a pine scent, very masculine, that really made my senses go wild. Peter took a step closer. Now he was so close I could feel his body heat radiating off if him. He brought his face close to mine and brought a hand up to fiddle with my hair. His presence was an immediate turn on, and his voice in my ears made my breath hitch. "No, what I wanted to tell you was much more... delicate. Yes, the information is delicate. It must be handled carefully, and given carefully. But I think you can know it now." I let out a shaky breath. Definitely swipe right. 

"I think we both know what you want to say, Peter." I murmured. "So go on, say it."

"Actions speak louder than words, love." 

His lips came to mine in a steamy kiss that seemed to go on and on. The kiss included me tugging on his hair, his hands on my waist, and an incredible sensation. For those of you that don't know, Peter Pan is an amazing kisser. 

Too bad my twisted and depressing thoughts always ruin the moment. 

"Newt," I was all I could say when Peter and I separated our mouths. He looked at me sadly but released my waist so that I could sit down on the chair across the room. "Newt... Oh god, Newt, I'm so so so so so sorry..." 

Of course, Newt wasn't there, but I couldn't help feeling extremely guilty. 

"Abby-" Peter started, but I cut him off. 

"No! Newt... he's my- I'm his- this shouldn't have happened. I have to go." I stood up to leave, but Peter grasped my hand.

"Wait, just-"

"No! Stop talking to me with your sexy voice and holding me with your soft hands and looking at me with your eyes and your really amazing face because I can't handle that! Because if you keep doing that, I'm going to kiss you again, in fact, I'd make out with you because you're too enticing! And I can't do that because I am dating Newt, and I love him and we've been together for so long and he'd never suspect me and he'd just smile and act normal and he wouldn't know that I'm a horrible person!" At this point I was sobbing, and Peter was trying to hug me and calm me down. I let him, until my knees gave out, so we sat on the floor, me in his arms, while I let it all out. "And Newt trusts me which makes this so much worse, and now I'm sobbing on the floor with the boy I cheated on him with and I don't know what to do because I feel more guilty doing this so I should stop but I also really need emotional support, and- and-" I started choking on words and struggling to breathe as Peter held me. 

"Here's what you should do. You should sit here and take care of yourself, then you can worry about Newt." Peter advised softly. 

"But I can't do that!" I wailed, tears starting to fall again, "Because I always put Newt first! It's how I ended up on this shuck island! I always put Newt first because he puts me first, we love each other!" I tried to get another sentence out but it was lost among the crying sounds as I wept. 

The night ended with me staying with Peter on the floor until I calmed down, then he carried me to bed so that he could work on the plans once again. I felt bad crying in front of because we kissed and probably severely damaging his self esteem, I also probably destroyed any hope of a relationship. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet. 

Hopefully I'll know, and hopefully I'll know soon. Hopefully I survive. Hopefully Newt and Peter survive for me to tell them. 

That's a lot of hoping.


	7. Guilt

"Abby, wait up!" 

I cringed as Newt caught up to me. "Oh, hey, Newt."

He looked at me in a concerned way, and I tried to avoid eye contact. His compassion made my actions way worse. He didn't suspect me at all, and his innocent trust seemed to make this so much worse. How was I supposed to lie through my teeth when he was being so kind to me? How was I supposed to live with myself? "You're being really distant today. Is something wrong?" He grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

"N- no. I'm fine, I'm great actually." I tried to make it seem like I was totally normal, but I'm not an actress. 

"You're a terrible liar, what's wrong?"

My brain was working a mile a minute to try to dream up a cover story. "Delphilia is coming in two days, Newt. How can you expect me to be okay?" I'm truly a terrible person. I'm using my death sentence to cover up the fact that I cheated on my boyfriend. How much lower can I sink? How much more can I take? This is all my fault! Maybe I should just tell him. Then he can hate me and I can move on. But I don't want to move on, I love him! So why the heck did I kiss Peter? I am such an idiot!

We stopped walking and Newt turned to face me. He set a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I began to feel my emotions building up. Somehow I seemed to know that they were going to burst, and that when they did, they would drag everyone down. "Don't worry, Abby, we can do this. The whole camp will defend you and the plans are being worked out by Pan-"

"NO! DON'T MENTION PETER PAN!" I shouted. I slowly sank against a tree to sit in the dust and dirt. Newt sat down beside me cautiously, as if I might burst at any given moment. 

"This is about more than Delphilia, isn't it?" He sighed and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close so that my head rested on his shoulder. "It's okay, tell me. You know that I love you, Abs, and whatever is going on, I swear that I'll be there for you."

I started to feel the tears leak out of my eyes. "You'll be so mad..."

"I love you," he whispered, "and that can overpower whatever happened with Peter Pan. Abby, love means that I will always be with you and will always stand by you. Love means I don't care if you are going to kill me, I'm still not going to raise a hand against you. I love you, Abigail Victoria Black."

I started weeping into his shoulder, trying to explain but it just came out as sounds and sobs. Newt stroked my hair until I was finally able to breathe again. "I- I- I kissed him! I kissed Peter, and I am so so so so sorry, please don't hate me, please! I regretted it the moment I did it! I love you so much, and I can't lose you, just don't hate me! Don't leave me! Don't- don't-" I couldn't finish my sentence because I started crying again, gasping for air between sobs. 

"Shh, calm down, it's okay. I forgive you." Newt whispered. 

I stopped crying and hiccuped. "What?"

"I said it's okay." Newt looked down at me, clearly sad, but not angry at all. Somehow it felt worse making him sad than angry. "If you regret what you did and apologized, then it's okay."

"A- are you sure?" I sniffed. 

Newt smiled kindly at me and wiped my tears. "I'm sure."

I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. "Thank you so much! I didn't deserve that!"

He hugged me back tightly. "But you do owe me something."

I pulled away to face him. "What? Anything, Newt, anything!"

"I've barely seen you lately. You owe me some time together." He laughed and hugged me again. 

"That sounds amazing."

~+~

"Woah, how did you find this place?" 

"I was just exploring the island, and stumbled across this." Newt answered. 

He motioned for me to sit down next to him. I did and looked around. The place he had taken me was splendid: it was a huge cave, but there was a waterfall and it was well lit. Vines covered the entrance and hung all around the cave. Some had flowers as well, so it smelled amazing. In short, it was the definition of perfect. 

We let our feet sit in the pool that the waterfall fell into. The water was a bit cold, but not unpleasant. I leaned against my boyfriend and we sat there happily, splashing a bit as lily pads floated by. I caught sight of a multicolored fish dart between some rocks and down deeper into the water. 

"Delphilia is coming in two days. That's the day after tomorrow." I remarked. 

"Let's not think about that right now." said Newt. 

A breeze wafted through the cave, carrying the scents of the flowers that were growing along the stone walls. 

"I wonder what's happening in the glade." I adjusted myself so that I could sit closer to Newt. 

"Yeah," he laughed, "it's kind of funny to think about the glade. It almost seems like an entire different universe."

I agreed with him and then said, "What about the rest of the boys? Not all the gladers are here. Grievers?"

Newt winced. "I'd like to think that they found a way out, but grievers are much more probable. You, Minho, and Thomas are here. You guys are the best three runners, so it's unlikely."

We fell into comfortable silence for a while until he said, "So, what will we do when Delplilia is defeated?"

"When?"

"Well yeah," Newt said casually, "I mean, we're going to bear her."

"You're that confident we'll stop her?" I was shocked that he really thought we had that good of a chance of winning. 

He nodded. "And when we do, what should we do afterwards?"

"We can figure that out if we really do stop her." I chuckled. 

"When. Not if. We will stop her." Newt stated confidently. It wasn't a question, he seemed perfectly certain that Delphilia would not kill me. 

I really hoped he was right.


	8. Last Chance

Tomorrow Delphilia would attack Neverland, and tomorrow I was fated to die. 

The entire camp was ready. Catapults were set up, boys hustled around, and Peter Pan attempted to drag me to a cave. 

"I don't want to go, Peter, and you can't make me!"

He rolled his eyes and tugged on my arm. "Abby, come on! It's the most secret place in Neverland, you'll be safe there!"

"But Peter," I complained, "it's a cave. I don't want to spend my last days in a cave." 

"It's not your last days."

"Yes it is. You intend to shoot a ghost with rocks."

"Abby, you're going to the cave."

Newt came over suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. "Is there a problem over here?" He looked warily at Peter's hand on my arm. 

"Yes, Newt, there is." I glared at Neverland's king. "Peter is taking me to a cave so that I will be safe. But I am going to stay and fight."

My boyfriend sighed. "As much as I don't want it to happen, you need to go. I don't want to see you hurt."

"I am not made of glass, Newt, I'll be fine!" I growled and tugged my arm from Peter's grip. There was a dull ache on my forearm, probably from my twisting and jerking my arm to escape Peter's grasp. "This is ridiculous. I am fighting, and that's final."

The two boys exchanged a glance, and within an instant, Newt had dived and grabbed me, while Peter stood infront of us. "Hold still," ordered Peter. 

"No! Newt, let me go!" I tried my best to escape him but it didn't work. If it had been anyone else besides Newt, I would have kicked them in the family jewels, but I thought that was too mean. 

Peter waved his hand and I fell limp into Newt's arms. 

~+~

The cave was nicer than I expected, that's for sure. I had awoken in a bed that had no headboard and was hanging above the ground by magic. It was more comfortable than it looked, but still not ideal. Across the cave were some supplies in crates and candles lit the room, and plenty of books were supplied to occupy me. It was nice, but I refused to stay in here. 

I went to the notebook and pencil Peter had supplied and began to form a plan to escape the cave. The entrance had been sealed with magic, all that could supply an escape was a hole in the ceiling, very small, but it might work. 

I was going to fight for my life tomorrow, I would not be kept in here because I was a girl or whatever. I am better than that. 

I will help defeat Delphilia. 

The plans were simple, I would rip up my blanket and make a rope from the ties and I would use a pile of crates and books to climb as high as possible. From that point, I would attempt to lasso a rock that was right outside the hole, and I would pull myself up. Then, I would get back to camp and stop Delphilia. 

I immediately got to work shredding the blanket, and with the dagger that was still strapped to my waist, it was easier. 

The night went on and on, and so did I. With each tie of the blanket I had to make sure it was completely secure twice, or falling would kill me before Delphilia could. 

The rope was completed and I began lugging crates and books to the center of the cave, where the ceiling was the highest. The pile took forever and I was certain it would fall as I climbed up, but somehow it held. I searched for the rock, balancing my weight so I wouldn't fall. It took a jillion tries but I eventually got it to hook and I began shimmying up like a monkey. By the time I reached the hole, the sun was rising over Neverland. Carefully, I swung my body over the hole and onto solid ground. I lay there on my back for a moment, catching my breath. But I got up the moment I saw the smoke. 

Neverland was burning.


	9. Flames Rise

I ran. 

As soon as I saw the dark omen of the smoke, I sprinted down the hill towards the camp. Branches clawed through my skin, red lines stretching across my flesh like a tiger's stripes. My feet pounded the dirt so hard that they sent fresh bursts of pain to my ankles each time they trampled the sod. Breathing became laboring, my throat going cold. All the while, sweat slid down my arms and my face gradually became unbearably flushed. 

I only stopped when I tripped over a root, twisting my ankle around and pinning me to the ground. A rock dug into the ligament on the back of my ankle, causing me to cry out, gasping for air and relief at the same time. Through my gritted teeth and wincing, I removed the rock and pulled my foot free from the gnarled root. 

Stumbling into the campground was nearly impossible, but I made it. The warrior inside me caught fire along with the treehouses, tents, and huts in that camp. A few miscellaneous bodies lay around the ground, no one I knew. 

Moving forward, it appeared that Delphilia had not come alone. Dead... creatures also littered the forest. Yes, creatures, that's the only word to describe them, with crinkled skin like a 2,000 year old woman, hate filled eyes, ghastly faces contorted as if by acid. Worst of all was their body. They were clammy and glistening like the fatty substances in meat that you would eat around. Creature truly was the only word fitting of such monsters. 

I stepped around the creature's corpses, running off into the woods. The trees were on fire. Like crimson blades they cut the ashen sky. Their tongues of heat were unforgiving as they reaped souls. I could spot multiple bodies burned beyond recognition, black skin and crackly texture, I couldn't even tell if they were lost boys or creatures.

I kept running but stopped yet again as a lost boy reached out a weary hand. "Please," he croaked, "help me. Please stop the bleeding, Abigail..."

My eyes widened in horror. I stooped to help him, taking his jacket to tie tightly around the gushing wound in his gut. There was no way he'd live, but it seemed like a basic human kindness to try. At the very least, he'd feel like someone cared as he died. 

Trudging onward, I met my first enemy. It was a creature, smaller than some I had seen earlier, but still of a decent size. It roared and lunged, claws pushing through the skin on it's paw-like hands and dripping it's own orange blood onto the trampled dirt.

I ducked and threw my body to the side, stumbling back. The creature came at me again. It's jagged claws didn't touch me, but it's body sent me flying to the side, rolling in the dirt and smacking a tree. Not two second after I staggered to my feet did it attack again, lashing out, but all I could do was run back a few paces. 

"Your knife!" I hissed to myself, "get your knife!"

I got the dagger that was strapped to my waist out, fumbling and nearly dropping it in the process. The creature nearly sliced me to ribbons (you know, more than I already was) in the time it took for me to do that. Luckily, I did spin out of the way in time to kick the back of it's knee. The creature collapsed, giving me an easy opportunity to stab the it through the back of it's neck. Blood spurted out like a leaky fire hydrant, staining my clothes. 

I continued through the woods, cutting through the debris in my path. I kept moving for a good half hour until I saw him: Minho. He was sprawled on the ground, tangled among the weeds and masses of plants. 

"MINHO!" I screamed, dropping my knife. I fell to my knees beside him. 

He gave a feeble cough and pried open his eyes a bit. "A- Abigail?"

"Minho, hang in there. You've got one of those creature's claws in your thigh." I informed him, examining the damage. It looked deep, but it had to come out. "Minho, I am so sorry for this." 

Without waiting for a reply, I seized the claw protruding from his leg and yanked it out, exactly in line with it's entrance path. The blood came next, flooding out of him, this time as red as my own. My shirt now was coated in red and orange blood, but I was more concerned with my friend. He wailed and writhed. 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, I am so so so so so sorry, Minho. Hold on, I have to bandage it up and stop the bleeding." Next, I ripped off part of my shirt and wrapped it tightly around the leg. That would have to do. "Minho, listen. There's no camp of injured I can take you to, there's no safe areas left, the only one is at least an hour from here if I dragged you, we'd never make it. I need to hide you here, and you need to stay quiet, got it?"

"You're leaving? Abigail, what the shuck? You can't leave!" He protested, attempting to sit up. He failed, however, and collapsed back onto the ground. 

I rubbed his arm soothingly, trying to soften the blow. "You know I don't want to, but I have to help them defeat Delphilia. There's nothing more I can do for you."

He knew I was right and gave in. "Fine,"

Solemnly nodding, I pushed him deeper into a bush, covering the area with debris. When at last his foot vanished from sight, I whispered a quick goodbye and jogged off into the trees. 

Finally, I came upon another dilemma. A collection of lost boys and Frypan were surrounded by the creatures. They were in a defensive formation, roughly six of them, and there were at least ten creatures. One person wouldn't save them all, but I charged from behind the creatures circling them, stabbing one in the back and diving into the formation. The boys hastily made room, still startled by my sudden arrival. 

"Abigail?" Frypan asked from behind me, "Is your head full of klunk? Why aren't you at the safe spot?"

"Too safe for me," I smirked, "And way too boring. Besides, you'd better be happy I broke out, after all, you guys were surrounded."

"And we still are! Whatever, Abs. Okay, guys, attack on three. One... two... three!" Frypan ordered. The group of us lashed out, slashing through the skin on their faces and critically injuring them. Most retreated, but one did not. It was a bit bigger than the others, and the seven of us ganged up and took it to the ground, slitting it's throat. 

When it was all said and done, I looked dover at Frypan. "Where are the others? I've barely seen anyone!"

"The biggest fight is down on the beach. Pan is holding off Delphilia there and these shuck losers," he motioned to the fallen creature, "are all over the place. Most of the boys are down there fighting them off."

"Newt, is Newt okay?"

"Last I saw, his limp was really getting to him, but he was alive. Have you seen any other gladers?" Frypan looked around as if they'd pop out of thin air, waving their arms and saying, 'I'm here!', but it was not that simple, it never was.

I winced a bit. "I saw Minho,"

"How was he?"

"Had a claw in his leg, but I got it out and bandaged him up. There wasn't anywhere safe to take him, so I hid him under a bush and some plant stuff." I confessed. Although it was the right course of action, it still didn't sit right with me.

Frypan set his jaw. "Where?"

"Back that way," I pointed behind me. "Call for him, he'll probably answer,"

"Will do. Good luck, Abby. Don't die."

"Great, I'm bloody inspired,"

"Quit imitating Newt,"

"I've got to go find them. Bye, Frypan!" I called over my shoulder as I ran off into the woods. The beach, that's where they were. I had to get there. 

Easier said than done. I ran into multiple more creatures on my way before I finally emerged on a cliff above the beach. Looking down, I felt my heart drop. The sand was rusty red, bodies of lost boys littered the beach, creatures had their insides on the outside, and there were so many people fighting. The lost boys were fighting creatures while Peter was in the air, fighting Delphilia. She looked exactly as I had when she came to me in my dream: dressed in silver and black. Hate was swimming in her eyes as her figure shimmered. She launched black magic at Peter, but he would block it and try to hit her back. 

Peter was okay, but where was Newt? Was he still alive? I scanned the battle and finally found him, staggering but fighting three creatures at once. He was outmatched, and with his limp, it was just a matter of time before he was defeated. 

I ran along the ledge of the cliff on a downwards slope until I reached Newt. Closing my eyes, I leaped off the side of the cliff and landed beside Newt. My ankle gave out under me, and I fell to the ground, but picked myself back up. Newt looked over at me, blinking twice before finally registering what happened. 

"Abby? Why aren't you in the-" a creature swiped at him and he barely jumped back in time. 

"No time!" I called and attacked a nearby creature. We fought back to back, covering each other and making sure that the creatures never got to the other. They collapsed, dead, as we leaned on one another for support. 

Newt took my face in his hands and pulled me close to him. "Abby, you have to go back! If Delphilia sees you-"

"Well, well, well!" A menacing voice echoed across the beach. I looked up to see Peter clutching his arm and Delphilia turned around to stare at me. "There you are. Tell you what, Abigail. I'll give you a ten second head start before I kill you." I did nothing, frozen in shock. "10... 9... 8... Go on. Run, little lost girl, run!"

Newt shoved me away. "GO! ABBY, RUN!"

Snapping out of it, I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could. My ankle was killing me, but I never once stopped, never once looked back. 

Behind me, I could hear her calling, "3... 2... 1!" 

I thought I could also hear Peter shout, "NO!" but I didn't stop to see if I was right. I jumped over dead bodies, tearing across the sand. It was way harder to run on sand than on regular ground, but I didn't let it stop me. A creature that I ran past, thinking it was dead, grabbed me around the ankle. It's claws embedded themselves in my muscles. I felt them sink through skin, muscle, and hit bone. The pain was unbearable, making me scream and fall to my knees. Tears started to leak from my eyes, but there was nothing I could do. The creature weakly lifted its other arm, clasping my leg and not letting me go. I finally looked over my shoulder. All of the creatures had abandoned attacking the lost boys and started running after me. The boys chased them and tried to stop them, but I was their only target now. Newt was desperately trying to stop them, but one lashed out and hit his leg, knocking him to the ground, unable to get up. Delphilia was flying above the creatures, eyes fixed on me and an evil smile on her face. Peter kept attacking her, but she blocked each one and continued on her way. 

This was it. This was the end. There was absolutely no hope, no way out. It was over, I would die. 

Peter flew into the air and shot towards me, faster than Delphilia. He landed beside me, blasting the creature away. Delphila and her troops were still pretty far away. Peter pulled me away from the dead creature, but the damage was done. My leg was finished. I knew this, and so did Peter. 

He held me upright and looked me in the eye. "Abby, it's okay. I've got this." He tried to pick me up to fly away, but I cried out at the motion. His face breaking, he set me down. Peter didn't have any other ideas. 

In that moment, I just burst into tears. Peter's eyes widened as he embraced me, holding my head against his chest, stroking my hair, and whispering softly in my ear. But it made no difference. My time had come. 

Delphilia landed in front of us at last. She scowled at Peter wrapping his arms around me and my sobs. 

"Please," I begged her, "Please just leave me alone! What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing," she snarled harshly, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of Peter's arms, "you're paying for his crimes!"

"Why? He's sorry! Just leave us alone! Please don't hurt me!" I pleaded. I was on my knees, crying my eyes out. Normally, I would have way too much pride for that, but it was over now. 

Delphilia shook her head, laughing, and raised her hand. Suddenly, her hand seemed to glow a silver color. The magic covering her hand was pulsing, I could feel its energy. Delphila reached forward and pressed her hand to my chest, leaving it there. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, my body began to glow and excruciating pain ripped through every fiber of my being. Until it didn't, and I collapsed onto the ground.


	10. The Dim Town

The pain didn't last very long. It was gone as soon as it started, my body crumbling to ash and death taking me as it's own. 

The next thing I knew I was waking up in a bed in a small room. It was dim and dingy, faded and forgotten. The air had a hopeless tint to it, and I something felt... off. Wrong. Out of place. The room was an old fashioned hotel room with peeling wallpaper, and the bed I was in was a twin size. I got up tentatively and went to the door. The knob was rusty and it squealed as I turned it. The hotel hallway had stained carpet and flickering fluorescent lights. I made my way down the hall, expecting the other rooms to be loud. It was the kind of place where less lawful people would end up to shout and drink, but there wasn't a sound to be heard. I reached a stairwell without a railing and at the bottom there was a table with a woman sitting behind it. She had dull eyes with dark circles and a sagging face. She looked up at me then looked back down at a newspaper. 

"Excuse me?" I asked. She didn't acknowledge that I'd spoken. "Ma'am?" She licked her finger and flipped the newspaper page. "Can you please help me?"

She sighed loudly and threw the newspaper down. With a gravely voice like she'd been smoking for years, she said, "You want to know where you are and what's goin' on, right? Wanna know where your friends are? Your family? Typical."

"Uh... yeah."

"You're dead, darlin'. Dead as a doornail."

"W- What?"

"Can't you leave me alone? Can't you see I'm trying to read the newspaper?" She glared harshly and held the newspaper up between us like a wall. The front page showed a picture of a man stepping out of a building, his eyes as cold as ice. The headline read: Cleemart's Thrift Shop to Close for Communications Scandal- Hades Furious.

"Who's Hades?"

The woman jumped and looked at me over the paper. "Who's Hades? The God of the Underworld."

"Underworld... you mean I'm in the Underworld?"

"Yeah that's right. Now leave me alone!"

I grit my teeth. This lady was a piece of work. I stomped forward and ripped the newspaper from her hands, slamming it down on the table. Her eyes widened and she leaned back in her rickety chair. "Now, you're going to explain exactly what is happening right now, or you'll regret it, lady. I am not in the mood for your attitude and your games, so if I were you I'd start talking real fast." I snarled, leaning forward inch by inch. 

She swallowed and answered timidly, "You died, kid. This is the Underworld, the place souls go if they have unfinished business."

I was dead? Delphilia had won. I had died and left Newt and Peter and Thomas and Fire and all my friends...

"And if I finish said business?"

"You can cross into the afterlife. But Hades... he'll never let ya finish whatever it is ya need to finish. He needs to keep souls here to keep 'is kingdom powerful."

"How do I get back to the world of the living?"

The lady gasped. She glanced around frantically and hissed, "Don't say that! God, if Hades heard ya-"

"How."

She let out a shaky breath. "Not easily. Someone alive will have to reach the Underworld and take you back. But to suggest returnin' to... Hades would..."

"Hades. Where is he?"

The lady shrugged. "No idea. His palace is somewhere down 'ere, but I dunno where exactly it is."

"Thanks," I smirked, "You've been useful."

I stood again and swiped the newspaper off the table and took it with me as I threw open the door to the rundown hotel. The street I was on was a mess. In fact, everything looked like a mess. There weren't any people to be seen, and the sky was stained a bloody red. It looked desolate and sad. I shook off the depressing feeling and started down the street. 

In the meantime, I flipped open the folded newspaper and skimmed the headlines. It didn't give any insight to anything happening in Neverland, or anywhere else for that matter. The whole paper seemed to be filled with boring columns and uneventful life. Except for that front page. Cleemart's Thrift Shop to Close for Communications Scandal- Hades Furious. The headline echoed in my mind. Communications scandal? What did that mean? 

A bell jingled somewhere ahead of me. A pretty girl was stepping out of a diner with a bell on the door. The diner was well lit- very different than the rest of the town. It's neon lights were like a beacon in the late afternoon. I found myself stepping inside to see it full of people talking quietly at booths. None of them looked very happy, but how could I blame them? They were dead, and they had unfinished business. 

"You're new around here."

I looked up. A lady at the counter was cleaning a cup and looking at me. 

"Yeah, I am. My name's Abigail." 

"Gloria." She told me.

I sat down at the bar in front of her and set the newspaper on the counter. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"About that?" She asked, pointing to the newspaper headline.

"Yeah, and about what's going on."

She examined me for a moment but nodded. "Go ahead."

"So, I'm dead?"

"Yes, hon, you're dead. And you have unfinished business." She set the cup down on a towel to dry and started washing a plate with sauce on it. 

I furrowed my brow. "What's my unfinished business?"

"I don't know. You have to figure that out for yourself."

"Great," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Okay so who exactly is Hades? I know he's in charge and all but who is he?"

"He's a god," she answered as she set the plate down. It dripped sudsy water on the counter, but she didn't seem to notice. "And he's powerful. Very, very powerful."

"Is he good?"

"Good? Good and evil don't matter here. There is no good, there is no evil, until you pass onto the afterlife. There is only business. You do what you need to do and everyone else does what they need to do. Simple. But I guess on most people's standards, no he's not good."

"And he's powerful? Is he more powerful than Peter Pan?"

The plate slipped from Gloria's hands. It shattered into pieces on the floor. Her breathing was fast. "D- Did he kill you, too? Is that your unfinished business? Revenge on... him?"

"Uh, I don't know," I lied. "Why?"

"That's my unfinished business. I had a best friend, she was here for decades because of her need for revenge on that monster. Hades finally let her go try to deal with him. I think it was because he's threatened by... that boy. He never lets anyone try to finish their business. She left 13 days ago. I haven't seen her since."

My blood ran cold. "What was her name?"

"Delphilia,"

I took a deep breath and suppressed my panic. I had to get answers. "So he could rival Hades' power?"

"Perhaps."

"What do they mean by a communications scandal?"

"I've already said too much. I shouldn't have told you anything about Hades anyway. Look, I like you, but I'm sorry, I can't. It's too dangerous. Do you want anything to eat?"

"Oh," I looked around at the sunken faces of the other people in the diner. How long had they been here? Was the weight of it all crushing them? I made up my mind. I wouldn't become one of them. I was getting out. "No thanks, I've got a lot to do. Thanks!"

I jumped up and ran out of the diner before Gloria could stop me. Down the street I sprinted, over broken building parts and crumbling brick. I made turn after turn, winding through the town, until I found it. A boarded up building with a dangerous aura. 

Cleemart's Thrift Shop. 

I crept up the stone steps and pushed the door. Locked. Carefully, I stepped down and circled the building. It was made of cracked stone and had ivy growing all over it. The stone was painted a faded red, but paint peeled by the cracks. 

I reached the back of the building to find a back door of moldy wood. It too was locked. I stood back and took a running start at the door, then threw my body into it, knocking it off it's hinges. Inside was a mess. Clutter with ugly price tags filled the back room. There was also a cot with some hideous blankets and a wooden trunk. The trunk was open, and clothes were thrown out of it as if someone had been frantically looking for something. I looked inside, but there was nothing odd inside. 

The door to the rest of the shop was unlocked, but as I stepped inside, I wished it was locked. Blood splattered the walls and floors. There was no body, and I wasn't sure how you killed a dead person, but I was pretty sure whoever the blood belonged to was not doing well. A glass case was swung open on the other side of the room, and on the floor before it was a glass bowl with carvings and engravings on it. Images of small people ran along it in spirals. It was the only thing in the entire shop that was broken, so I knelt next to it and picked up a shard. Although it was broken, it hummed with a magical energy I couldn't place.

The glass reflected my eyes and as I tilted it I could see the reflection of a figure behind me. 

"Don't touch the speaking basin." said the man behind me.

I froze. Tenderly, I set the shard down and turned around. 

The man smiled at me. "Abigail Black. Pan's girl. So Delphilia succeeded. Nice to meet you. I'm Hades."


	11. Unfinished Business

"What do you want?" I demanded, glaring stony eyed at the god. 

Hades chuckled. He leaned up against the counter, flicking a drop of blood away. "To see if it was true."

"If what was true?"

"If Delphilia really killed you. She said she had, that her plan worked perfectly, but I wanted to be certain. And she did. She'll be missed, of course, but the outcomes of finishing her business are... phenomenal."

I swallowed the fear in my throat, clenching my fists. Hades' presence was sending out waves of fear. I could feel them hitting me, trying to make me scared of him. So that's how he kept his power, making people too terrified to defy him. That, and his power. "What do you mean? What outcomes?"

"Peter Pan, that's what. He's ruined. His precious Abigail, ripped from his arms and burned right in front of his eyes. Oh, how will he ever recover? He's depressed, he's broken. And now, stricken with grief, he's no threat to me anymore," Hades taunted, smiling gleefully. "Oh, and his lost boys. About a fifth of them are dead. He's mourning them, too, and dealing with the fact that he lead them into a massacre."

I felt my chest tighten. Peter. How could this happen to him? Sure, he's made mistakes, but he didn't deserve this. And the lost boys? A fifth of them died for me. Because of me. I should never have come to Neverland. If I hadn't summoned that stupid shadow, Peter wouldn't have fallen in love with me, the boys wouldn't have died, and Newt wouldn't be stuck on that island. 

"Newt? What about him?" I asked, holding back tears. God, if anything happened to him I wouldn't know what to do.

"The attractive one with the limp?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, he's fine. After you died, Delphilia had gotten her revenge on Pan, so she passed on. Poor girl. She probably wouldn't have finished her business if she knew where she ended up after passing."

"And where's that?"

"Hell."

There was a long pause. I hated Delphilia for killing me, but she was just a hurt girl acting in a blind hate for her murderer. Did she deserve to go to hell? 

"She killed you! " I reminded myself, "Of course she does."

"What about those... things. The creatures with the orange blood."

Hades shrugged. "Delphilia disappeared, they crawled back to papa. That's me by the way."

"Those things are here?"

"More or less. They live underground. They won't bother you if you don't bother them. Word of advice- stay out of caves."

I leaned back against the wall where there wasn't any blood. "So you were behind it all. Delphilia. The creatures. Everything."

Hades spread his arms triumphantly, and evil smile on his lips. "Yes. And I won. Peter Pan will never be a threat to me. He's too weak to ever make a move on the underworld. It's all mine."

I pushed off the wall, taking a few steps forward. "He never wanted your stupid kingdom! He doesn't need any more territory, he's content to stay on Neverland- his own turf. This wasn't necessary!"

Hades glared at me with cold eyes, advancing. "That's what you think, silly lost girl? That Peter Pan doesn't want more? He always wants more. And I'll clue you in on a little secret. All he does is consume. He'll take everything if he isn't stopped. But he will not take me."

"That's not true!" I cried, shaking my head. 

"Isn't it? He took eternal youth first. But somehow that wasn't enough, so he took Neverland and he still wasn't satisfied. So, he started taking people from Earth and all of it's realms. He took absolute power over those people. Then you showed up. And you were in love with that limping kid, and so instead of leaving you to be happy with him, he took you, too. Can't you see that? If you don't think Pan would take my kingdom, you are even stupider than I thought."

I fought down the sick feeling in my stomach and reminded myself that he was good. Peter was good. "He didn't take me."

"Oh, yes he did. And you know it, too. I can see it in your eyes. Look on the bright side. Delphilia may have killed you, but now you're out of Pan's reach. He can't take anything else from you."

"He was never going to when I was alive."

"You are so naïve. Did I not make myself clear? He takes everything. And if you had stayed, he would have completely consumed you, too."

I shook my head again, feeling myself tearing up. My gaze left Hades'. Looking into his eyes was chilling me to the bone. "No. No, no, no. I don't have to listen to this." I turned on my heel and walked swiftly back towards the hole where the door once stood.

"Keep what I said in mind. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon, little lost girl. Enjoy the underworld."

I turned around to give Hades a piece of my mind, but he was gone. The only sign he was ever there was the blood on the counter, smudged from where he had touched it. 

~+~

I walked back down the block and opened the door of the diner again. Gloria was still at the sink, just finishing washing the last dish. She glanced up when I entered. 

"Abigail. You look... what happened? Is that blood?" She asked, pointing to the edge of my sleeve as I sat down at the bar in front of the sink. 

I held up my sleeve, examining the dots of blood along the white fabric. "Oh, yeah, but it's not mine."

She blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"That sounded bad. I didn't beat anyone up or anything. I just went to Cleemart's Thrift Shop and there was a lot of blood in there." I explained, glancing down at the laminated menu laid out. "Can I get a coffee or something?"

"You went where? Oh, lord, if Hades found out-"

"He did. We had a chat."

Gloria put a hand over her heart. "My god, child, how are you alive?"

"Well we have history, as it turns out. I'm sorry, it's just I don't know anyone else here that was nice to me and I wasn't quite sure what to do."

"I... It's alright, doll, we just need to get you some food. I'll get a coffee for you and there's some rooms up above the diner if you want one to stay in. You're gonna be here for the larger portion of forever, so get comfy." She turned back to the window and hollered to the chef, "Some bacon, eggs, and French toast."

"Coming right up!" Came a male voice from somewhere in the kitchens. 

"Thanks, Hal."

"You got it, Gloria!"

She smiled sympathetically at me and poured some coffee into a mug, sliding it across the counter. "So have you figured out what your unfinished business is?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"Well, did you have any kind of life's work, or purpose, or big goal you were devoted to in your life?"

"Not really," I shrugged. "I spent a long time in this... place. And there was this maze that my friends and I were trying to get through. We worked on it everyday. But then I left, went to an island with my closest friends from the maze. We lived there pretty happily until there were some issues and I died. So I had already escaped from the maze when I died."

"Well that is a heck of a goal. Why were you in a maze?" Gloria asked, perplexed. How do you say that you were trapped in a maze and had amnesia in a way that sounds normal?

I waved the question off. "Long story."

"Alright, well, what about people. Was there some one you were really attached to?" She inquired. 

"Plenty of people. But I guess I was particularly close with these two boys I knew." I answered, thinking about Newt and Peter. 

She nodded thoughtfully. "Ok. I'd guess your unfinished business has something to do with one of them. Which one were you closer to?"

The answer should have been Newt. I had spent so long with him in the glade, he was my rock. But once Peter came along I quickly bonded with him. Maybe I was closer to Newt emotionally, but when it came to choosing a favorite between the two, I had no idea. 

"I don't know. That was kind of the problem before a bunch of crazy happened and I was killed."

"Killed?"

I winced. Gloria was friends with Delphilia before she sought her revenge. No way Gloria would hear out my side of the story if she knew Delphilia and I were enemies. I didn't have any friends in this place, I needed to hold on to any I had. 

"Yeah, I was kind of murdered. More like a casualty in war, but yeah."

"Well maybe your unfinished business is revenge on this killer." She suggested. 

A plate with bacon, eggs, and some delicious looking French toast slid out of the window. Gloria grabbed it and set it down in front of me. I took a bite off eggs first. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. I guess dead people in the underworld eat, too.

"Hmm. I doubt it. I don't really hate her. Besides, she's in a bad place right now. I think that's enough punishment for what she did to me." I felt a bit guilty not telling Gloria about Delphilia's fate, but said nothing as I bit into some bacon.

Gloria nodded thoughtfully. "What about this war? Were you fighting for a cause you believed in?"

"Nope. It was self-defense. Someone else attacked us." 

"So these two boys. Could choosing one be your unfinished business?"

I paused for a moment, munching bacon, before continuing. "Maybe so. I was in love with both of them. Maybe finally making my decision is my unfinished business."

"Well don't go advertising that. If Hades knew that you could pass on by just making up your mind, he'd do everything to stop you. Hurt you so bad you can't think, can't make up your mind. So you keep that to yourself, you hear?" Gloria told me sharply. 

I nodded, swallowing some French toast. "Okay. But I'm going to get out of here."

"Hush!" She scolded, grabbing a key off a hook by the telephone on the wall and tossing it onto the counter beside my fork. "Now you go shopping. Get some clothes, some supplies, some decorations for your room. You can decorate how you want, so paint your new room whatever color you want. Get some comfy blankets, some ice cream for the freezer. And make some friends. We're all stuck here, might as well be stuck and not lonely."

I smiled, hopping off my seat as Gloria took my plate and empty coffee mug. "I will. Thank you."

She nodded, patting my hand kindly. "Of course, sweetheart. You need anything and I've got it, okay?"

"Okay." I waved, leaving the diner and reaching into my pocket to put the key there. Surprisingly, there were bills folded into it. Some strange form of underworld currency. It must be some sort of starting balance until I got a job or whatever people do down here. 

"Sweet!" I said to myself, "Time to go shopping."

I could worry about Hades and communication scandals and escape later. Right now, I was going to have some well deserved fun.


	12. Greif and Its Forms

Peter Pan picked up a knife from the ground. It had been under a bush and he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been staring at the dirt as he walked. He sighed, tucking it into his belt for safe keeping. They had a large-scale clean up after the battle, but people would still find weapons or the occasional dead creature or amputated finger here and there.

There was a collective funeral for everyone that died in the fight, about a fifth of the lost boys. Some people wanted to have a bunch of individual funerals, but there were so many dead that it would have been impossible, and some bodies were maimed beyond recognition, so a funeral wouldn't mean much if no one knew the person.

And there were some missing, too. Everyone knew that the missing were those unidentifiable corpses, but no one wanted to look down at a shredded face and say that it was their friend. It was easier to just say, "missing."

Peter was devastated by the death toll. So many of his boys were just... gone. Before he had met Abby, he wouldn't have cared beyond the fact that it would be a hassle to get new recruits. But now things were different, she had changed him, made him more human. Now guilt was eating him up, eroding at him until he was nothing.

But their loss wasn't the hardest one for him. The hardest was losing her. 

Thinking about it made him feel worse. He pushed the images of her smile and kissing her from his mind.

He made it back to camp from his walk, pausing to survey the camp. A group of lost boys was making a pyre- the third that day, for the next batch of bodies. Others were organizing the campground, putting things back where they were supposed to go. Tents were patched up and new trees were planted where some had burned down. The forest was a mess from the fire, but the magic of Neverland was making the saplings grow very quickly. 

He went straight to his tent, ignoring the desperate stares of the lost boys. His eyes stayed fixed on the ground and the moment he was alone he slumped to the floor, leaning against the foot of his bed. 

Delphilia had gotten what she wanted. She made him hurt. The most bitter part was that he didn't even remember killing her. She was just another insignificant person he'd destroyed. But now he'd never forget her. Now she'd ruined everything, and memory of her was everywhere. In the eyes of the lost boys, more lost than ever before, in the mass graves and the constant smell of cremation and burning flesh, in the hollowness of his own heart. She wasn't so insignificant anymore.

Everything was frozen in grief. The boys never spoke. The animals of Neverland retreated to their holes. Even the wind was still. It was like they were trapped, forever, in the same moment that they lost everything. For some boys, it was when they lost their brother or their best friend. For Peter, it was the second Abigail burned to nothing. He couldn't go backward and be with her again. But he couldn't go forward to move on either. He was stationary. 

~+~

Newt swung the ax again. It clunked into the wood and finally, it split. Leaning the ax against a tree, he carried the wood back to the pyre and gave it to Minho, who added it to their construction. 

Newt went into the woods in search of a small tree to chop down, sighing. All he did was that since he lost Abby. He missed everything. Her smile, her smell, her touch. But he was used to losing those he cared about. And he had to keep moving, keep working. He didn't speak much, no one did, but that was only because his mind kept screaming. 

He started jogging through the forest, then he began to run. His speed increased until he broke into a sprint. As fast as he could go, jumping over roots and dodging between trees. He thought of his time as a runner, weaving through the maze with Abby beside him, and suddenly she was there. He passed a tree and she was running beside him, backpack over her shoulder like in the maze. She grinned at him, eyes sparkling, daring him to race her. Newt nodded, accepting her challenge, and went faster. He didn't even feel the ache in his leg as he went forward because he didn't have a limp. He had never jumped from the top of the maze walls. He was a runner, mapping day by day. And he had Abby. 

Newt skidded to a stop as the forest gave into the lake. He laughed, "I beat you!" And turned to Abby. But she wasn't there. 

Then he remembered. She was gone. She never was there. It was like losing her all over again. His chest heaved with heavy breath, his heart thundered, and his leg felt like it was on fire. He had to go faster, keep going, keep running. So he did, took off along the coast of the lake and pushed the thoughts from his mind. He ran from the truth faster and faster, as if he was scared that if he slowed, even for a second, that it'd catch up. 

~+~

I sighed, thinking about my life, my friends, Peter, and Newt. They felt so far away.

Gloria grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the sink. "Hey, are you ok?"

I blinked. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah."

"No, you're not. You look sad. What is it?"

"I just..." I stopped. It was pathetic. Everyone here was separated from loved ones. What gives me the right to complain?

Gloria wrang the washcloth out and put some soap on the corner. "Come on, out with it!" She began to scrub the counter, suds splattering and the occasional bubble floating up. I reached out and popped one with my finger.

"I just miss Peter and Newt and everybody. I hate being away from them like this."

Gloria smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, darling. I know it's hard. But pretty soon you're going to have to stop looking over your shoulder."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your life is just a tiny blip in forever. You've got the rest of eternity ahead of you. You can't spend it all looking a tiny fraction of experiences like those are more important than the ones you are facing now. That's the reason you're in the underworld. You could be in heaven right now, but you're still reaching back for your past loves."

"Or I could be in hell."

"Baby, I know you. You wouldn't go to hell. But because you looking over your shoulder at what you once had, you're stuck in this place instead."

I traced my finger down a crack in the counter. "You're right. But it's easier said than done."

Gloria paused from cleaning the counter and looked at me. "I know, honey. I know."

~+~

I groaned, pulling off my shoes and throwing them beside the door. It had been a long day in the afterlife. I'd applied for a job at a convenience store to make enough money for frozen enchiladas and a microwave. Some random, crazy, crying girl on the street had stopped me and told me about her living husband and how much she wished he'd die and come be with her. It was strange how the underworld worked. Everyone wanted their loved ones to get murdered or cancer or to be in a freak airplane crash. Only to see them again, of course, but it's still odd. 

My room was quaint but it was starting to feel like home. Random remnants from people's past showed up in the Pawn Shop all the time, and I had found old doodles that I had made on Neverland and in the maze. There was the occasional picture that no one had actually photographed in real life, too, and I had them all pinned onto my wall. 

I missed Peter and I missed Newt but I tried to just ignore it. I was in the underworld and that was okay. I was fine. Wishing that they were here wouldn't help and it'd be just a tad mean. Hoping pure, precious Newt wouldn't go straight to heaven? Definitely screwed up. 

Besides I wasn't even going to be here that long. I was either going to pass on or get back to Neverland. Gloria was great, and so was my room, but heaven or life both were better. 

It's fine. I'm fine. It's all good. Everything is great.

It's not even that bad in the underworld. There's a café and my window overlooks a nice street. There's a school with nice little dead kids in it. This weekend they're having a science fair. Learning is important, even when you're dead. Even jobs for dead people need a high school diploma. And the community college here is free, so those children will get a wonderful education. 

Functioning radios play Hades' propaganda and every other hour is throwback hour and we get to listen to oldies like Hell Awaits by Slayer, Now That We're Dead by Metallica, and the occasional Hellhound on my Trail by Robert Johnson. All great artists. 

Some landline phones work, too. Yay for technology. Maybe I can invent a TV down here. But I don't know how to get a signal for it. Or how to build one. 

Everyone here is depressed. But that's fine because no one is overly excitable so no ones particularly annoying.

There's a fight ring on Wednesdays where people beat each other bloody and no one stops them. I'm not sure we even have a police force here. But hey, there's pretty much no laws so crime rates are really low. 

Yesterday I saw someone shove a small child in the River Styx so that their soul will be tortured forever. 

Anyway. 

All my houseplants keep dying. So did a pet fish I bought. But being alone is ok. It's quiet. Not that my fish or plants made much noise. But glass half full, right?

Gloria gave me a hot breakfast for helping her assemble a coffee table that she bought from IKEA.

Yes, we have an underworld IKEA. It's even more confusing than the ones in real life, or so I've heard. I've never been to one because I was trapped in a maze and then I was trapped on Neverland. Well, maybe I did go before the maze. I wouldn't know, my memories were stolen. 

Oh well. 

But I did ask around and now I know more about life before a maze. From other people's experiences of solar flares etc, maybe it was good I lost my memories. 

I cry myself to sleep but that's fine because crying physically releases stress hormones, cleans out toxins, improves vision, and kills bacteria in the eyes. 

It's all ok. 

Gloria said I'm in denial about my grief and that I need to face my problems and cope with them but I don't have problems. My afterlife is fine and even if it wasn't I'll leave soon and go back. I just need to find out exactly what Cleemart was arrested for.

Communications Scandal. And I remembered what Hades said when he came into the Thrift Shop. He told me not to touch the speaking basin. What's a speaking basin? I had a feeling that Gloria wouldn't tell me. I need to fix that thing, use it somehow. 

I slipped on a sweatshirt and threw my shoes back on, grabbing a backpack and hurrying out the door, down the stairs, and leaving. I ran along the sidewalk, my black converse thumping as I made my way to Cleemart's Thrift Shop. 

I made it and quickly stooped where I had just a week ago. I collected the broken pieces of the speaking basin and tossed them carelessly in my backpack. I had to be fast. If Hades knew what I was doing... well I don't know what he'd do but it'd be bad. I finished collecting the pieces and looked around the room spotted a blue bowl, similar to what I imagined the basin would look like whole. I swiped the bowl off the shelf and threw it down. It clattered and split into fragments. Hades would never know. 

I zipped my bag shut and left the shop, not stopping till I was back in my room with the door locked, the pieces spread out on the floor. How would I even put them back together? I had a feeling that super glue or duct tape wouldn't cut it. I needed to put them back together magically. I needed someone who knew magic and someone I could trust. 

The only person that came to mind was Peter. That wasn't going to work. 

Discouraged, I put the pieces back in my bag and pushed it under my bed. I'd just have to ask Gloria. 

~+~

"You want to know what?" Gloria asked.

I shrugged. "If there's any dead sorcerers or mages here."

She squinted at me, studying my face. "Why?" She questioned suspiciously.

"You don't want to know."

"I probably don't. There's one. A woman named Morgan. She's old and reclusive and very... how do I put this... blunt."

"Where do I find her?"

"Just outside town, there's a graveyard. Behind the graveyard is this decrepit old house. She'll be in there. She never seems to leave." Gloria informed me. 

The door opened and the bell dinged. "Welcome to-" She stopped. "I- Lord Hades!"

I spun around. Hades strolled into the diner with a cold smile. "Cup of coffee- black. And whatever she wants." His finger was pointed straight at me. I breathed in sharply. 

Hades came forward and took me by the arm, leading me to a booth. I sat down shakily. Did he know about the speaking basin? Was he thinking about the bag under my bed right now? How did he find out?

The god of the underworld slid into the booth across from me, folding his fingers delicately. "Abby. How have you been?"

"Cut the small talk," I said, sounding braver than I felt, "What do you want?"

Hades smiled devilishly. "This isn't about me. I'm not that selfish. I'm here to talk about you, and what you want."

"What the hell does that mean?"

He shrugged. "It means I've noticed that you seem to keep trying to go backward."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You're very eloquent." He smirked. 

I was about to tell him off, tell him that he was a stupid, ugly bastard and I most certainly didn't want anything from him but Gloria approached the table with a glass saucer and a mug. I noticed the spoon on the saucer clinking very quietly as she shakily set it down. She pulled her hands back, letting them fall gracefully to her sides. "There you go, Lord Hades. Would you like anything else?" Only I noticed the quivering in her hands. Other than that, she was perfectly composed. She was good at hiding her fear. 

Hades picked up the mug, maintaining eye contact with Gloria. He took a sip, his icy eyes staring at her over the rim of the cup. Slowly, he lowered it back onto the saucer, never looking away. Gloria held his stare until he said, "Too hot."

The trembling in her hands increased, but she folded them behind her back. "I'm very sorry. Would you like me to brew you a cooler cup?"

"No," he responded coldly, "I waited long enough on the first one. I'll fix it myself."

His hand moved from the handle of the cup to the base of it and his fingers wrapped around the sides. Suddenly, blue flames burst from his palm and engulfed the drink. I expected a blast of heat but instead, I felt waves of cold rush over me. 

The flames stopped. Inside the mug, the coffee was frozen into a block of ice. Rolls of fog spilled over the sides of the cup as he set it back on the saucer. As soon as the fog hit the saucer, that froze, too.

"Much better," Hades mused. "Thanks..." He checked the plastic name tag pinned onto her apron. "Gloria."

She nodded and turned, walking quickly back to the kitchen. Hades shook his head. "Can't find good help these days. Now, where were we?"

I shivered. Half of the table had frosted over and I could feel the chill coming off of Hades. "I asked you a question. Now, what the hell did you mean?"

Hades nodded. "Right, I was commenting on your articularity. I just meant that you seem to be so hung up on looking back at your life and your boyfriend and your mistress."

"What mistress?"

"Peter Pan."

"He's a guy."

"Manstress, then. Either way, you're hopelessly hung up on them. So let's make a deal."

I raised an eyebrow. Make a deal? With the god of the underworld? "What kind of deal."

He smirked, leaning his elbows on the table and lowering his voice. "I want you to watch someone for me. Keep tabs on them, find out information, find out what they want, their personality, their needs... things like that."

"Who?" I demanded. 

"A man in the Enchanted Forest. Very old, very powerful. His name is Rumplestilskin."

I blanched. "What kind of parent names their child Rumplestilskin? That's just mean."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I thought the same thing. But my name is Hades so I guess I'm in no position to judge."

"Why do you want me to stalk him?"

Hades rolled his eyes. "First- don't make it creepy by calling it stalking. Secondly-"

"But it is stalking."

"Think of it as keeping a watchful eye on someone."

"Spying?"

"Does calling it that make you feel more inclined to do the task?"

"Sort of."

"Then yes, it's spying. Will you do it?"

I hesitated. Who was this guy? Did Hades want to hurt him? Kill him, even? I didn't want any part in a murder. "Are you going to hurt him?"

Hades smiled knowingly like he knew I was going to ask that. "I don't intend to, no. My hope is to make another deal with him. He likes a good deal."

"What's in it for me?"

"Ah, right. The 'you' part. Well, you're desperate to talk to your boyfriend, Newt, are you not?"

Talk to Newt? Was he going to let me talk to Newt? "So what if I do?"

"I have magic. Powerful magic. I could cast a spell let you have a quick conversation. Monitored my me, of course. But you could have, say, five minutes."

I'd give anything just to talk to Newt for a moment. Five minutes? That was a good deal. But I could tell that Hades really wanted me to spy on this Rumplestilskin. I could get more. 

"Ten minutes," I answered. 

"Six."

"Nine."

"Seven."

"Eight."

"Deal." He reached across the table and took my hand, giving it a single firm shake. 

~+~

Hades finally left and I went straight up to my room to scream in my pillow. 

I was going to get to talk to Newt. For eight whole minutes! I could tell him all the things I needed. I could tell him I love him, that I'm okay, ask him how he is. I hope he's alright. But I won't have to wonder anymore, I'll get a real answer. 

Eventually, I calmed down. I'd get eight minutes to talk to Newt but if I could fix that speaking basin, I could get hours, potentially with anyone. At least, I hope that's how it works. 

Buzzing with excitement, I threw on my shoes and sweatshirt then tossed the backpack full of speaking basin shards over my back. I hopped down the stairs and waved to Gloria as I exited the diner. I followed street after street until finally, I came to the edge of town. In the distance was a graveyard. Gnarled trees grew up around fences and the headstones were in bad condition. I gently nudged open a creaky wooden gate and walked through the rows of burial sites. When I first arrived in the maze, the deadheads scared me. The thought of the dead bodies under my feet was unnerving. But after I lost friends, I lost that fear. Instead, it was just sad. Some stones were broken, the names represented fallen away. Whoever was buried there was forgotten. I kept walking until the house Gloria had told me about came into view. The windows were dusty, the mailbox had fallen over, weeds covered the grass and cracked sidewalk. As I stepped onto the porch, I realized that mold and mildew had rotten chunks of it away, so I had to be careful where I stepped. The doorbell was hanging out of its socket by a frayed wire so I knocked, slightly scared the door would fall in. 

It took a moment but I heard shuffling, a pause, and then a lock click open. And another. And another. And another. After seven locks, the door finally opened. An old woman with one eye bigger than the other and brown clothes opened the door. The smell of rot and mothballs hit my nose and I did my best not to gag. 

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"I'm Abigail. You're Morgan, right?"

"Yeah. You lookin' for money or something? If so, get lost." She snarled at me through unclean dentures. 

"No, I'm wondering if you could help-"

"I don't donate to charity. Anyone that asks for charity is a cumberworld."

I decided not to ask what a cumberworld is. "I'm not from a charity. I'm the one that needs help."

"Cumberworld."

"Old hag."

I froze. I didn't mean to insult her. Oh my god. She'd never help me. She'd eat me. She'd use me for some evil witch potion. I'd never talk to Newt again.

The old woman blinked and then suddenly she roared with cackling laughter. She stopped eventually and opened the door wider. "I like you. You say it like it is. It's true, I'm an old hag. Get inside and let's see how I can help you, cumberworld."

I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped inside the house, the door falling shut and locks clicking behind me.


	13. Chapter 13- The Speaking Basin

Morgan's house was less of a house and more of a shack. The roof was tin and slated with a few holes that had buckets underneath them to catch the rain. Each wall was made of clay and mud, seemingly shaped by Morgan's hands. There were only two windows, one beside what was supposed to be a fireplace, and the other across the room looking out at the graveyard. 

Bundles of plants and herbs hung from the ceiling, attached by twine. They smelled strong, but not unpleasant. There were three rusty metal bins holding liquid, each shaped differently, to serve as utilities. The first was on top of some crates and had water in it, making a sink. The second only had traces of water in the bottom, likely from Morgan's last bath. And the third was boiling (though I couldn't see how) with a dark purple substance that smelled strongly of something I knew, but couldn't place. 

In the makeshift fireplace was a fire that burned on logs that didn't appear to be burning. Above it was a bar with hooks for pots to hang from if she was cooking. And in the center of it all was a small table with a rather fat cat pacing back and forth. 

I smiled at the cat. "Who's that?" 

"That's Dog." 

"Oh." 

Morgan went over to the purple stuff and sprinkled in something from the numerous bottles on the shelves beside it. 

"What are you making?" 

She tossed in some herbs nonchalantly. "Poison." 

I blinked. "Oh. Cool." 

I looked back at the door that had magically locked behind me and frowned. "Why did you lock the door?" 

"So that you can't run away if I find out that you're working for Hades." 

"Okay." 

There was a scuttle behind some flour sacks next to the fireplace. Instantly, Dog jumped down from the table, lept over the bags, and pounced on a field mouse. He gripped it in his teeth and went over to Morgan who, to my horror, took down a jar full of dead mice from the shelves, bent down to Dog's level, and put the lid back on after he dropped the mouse inside.

I swallowed thickly. "Whatcha going to do with those?" 

"Maybe use them in a summoning ritual. Maybe put them in a stew." 

I nodded uncomfortably. "Okay."

"Are you going to be staying late?" Morgan asked, sniffing her potion. 

"I'm not sure." 

"Well, if you are, I need to know so that I can start making the stew." 

My stomach twisted. "I don't think so." 

Finally, Morgan went away from the potion and sat down in a creaky chair at the table. "So. Why are you here?" 

I took her sitting as my cue to do so as well and I sank into a chair across from her, watching Dog lick his bloodied paw as I spoke. "Well, I died and I need to talk to people that are still alive." 

"Do I look like a haunting shop to you?" She asked, glaring at me. 

"It's less like haunting and more like talking. Plus..." I hesitated, "Plus I want to come back to life." 

Morgan cackled, throwing her head back in laughter and slapping her wrinkled hands on the table. She kept laughing for an uncomfortably long time that I spent awkwardly glancing around and wondering when she was going to stop. 

"You can't come back to life, cumberworld." 

Dog started hacking profusely beside the table. 

"Is your cat okay?" 

"He's fine." 

Dog continued hacking. 

"I was told that I could come back to life if someone from the world of the living was able to retrieve me." 

"That's not a question." 

"Is it true?" 

A fat, wet, juicy hairball came out of Dog's throat and fell onto the floor. He sat up and licked his chops, padding away to go mess with a loose thread on Morgan's blanket. 

"Yes, it's true," Morgan answered, "But it's also nearly impossible. You'd have to have someone know you're in here, first of all. Then you'd need someone powerful to come get you. And Hades would kill them before they could leave." 

It was getting hot in the shack, despite the cool air from outside that drafted in. In a sweatshirt and jeans, I was not comfortable. 

"But what if I did know someone powerful? Someone that would want to bring me back to life." 

Morgan squinted her old eyes at me. "How powerful are we talking?" 

"Hades is scared of him." 

She blinked. "That's impossible, there are only a few beings in all of creation that are that powerful. The chances of you knowing someone Hades is actually scared of is-" 

"Peter Pan." 

Morgan's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh my." 

I glanced over at the hairball on the floor. "Are you going to get that?" 

"No." 

"Oh. Can I take care of it? Because it's kind of-" 

"Leave it. I need it for my poison." 

I wrinkled my nose but didn't object. "Okay. Well, what do you think? Can I come back to life?" 

Morgan hummed thoughtfully, looking me over with an interested expression on her face. "Does Peter Pan know that you are here?" 

"No." 

"Then he can't exactly come to get you, now can he, cumberworld?" 

"What's a cumberworld?" 

"It's old English for a useless person." 

I nodded. "Okay." 

There was a lot of silence. Dog was still trying to eat the blanket and the hairball was still beside the table, oozing.

"What if I got a message to Peter?" 

"Then you'd have a chance. But getting a message across the veil is-" 

"Hades wants me to go on a mission to spy on someone named Rumplestilskin. He says if I do it, he'll give me eight minutes to talk to my boyfriend- who's alive and with Peter. He could tell him where I am!"

Morgan's eyes flashed with anger. "You're working for Hades?" 

"Not yet and not happily." 

"Good thing I locked that door," Morgan glowered, standing up. 

I jumped up, too, backing away. "Morgan, I'm not on Hades' side. If I was, I wouldn't be trying to reach the surface." 

"Or this is all a trick!" she screeched, rubbing her hands together to summon fire in them. 

"Whoa, whoa, Morgan, calm down!" God, I am such an idiot.

She advanced, growling as I continued to back toward the window. 

"I have a speaking basin!" 

Morgan stopped. "What?" 

"The one from Cleemart's. I took the pieces." Quickly, I slid my backpack off my shoulders and pulled out the pieces, laying them down on the table. "See? Not working for Hades." 

Morgan's eyes widened and the fire burned out, much to my relief. "You have the parts of a speaking basin?" 

"Yes. I stole them. I was wondering if you could reassemble it so I could talk to Peter." 

Morgan ran her fingers over the shards, shivering in delight. "A speaking basin..." 

My eyes flickered from Morgan to the pieces. "So, can you fix it?" 

Morgan looked up at me. "Why should I help you?" 

"If Peter comes to save me, I'll have him save you, too." 

"I don't want to be alive again. The Enchanted Forest is... crowded. Too noisy." 

"Well, then you can keep the basin once I'm gone. You can repair it here, I'll use it, get rescued, and you talk to your heart's content." 

I wasn't sure if she'd betray me, taking the basin all for herself, but at this point, I didn't have many options. Besides, I have a Plan B: Hades' job.

Morgan grinned through yellowed teeth. "Deal." 

I sighed in relief. "So you can fix it?" 

"Yes, with time... and I must be careful. Using too much magic at once will draw Hades here." 

Shakily, I sat back down in my seat. That was intense. "How long will it take?" 

"Time means nothing here." 

"Okay, but will it be a long time?" 

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yes, it will be a long time." 

"Okay, but, like, how long?" 

"What did you say your name was, again?" 

"Abigail." 

"Abigail, stop asking stupid questions." 

I sighed and rested my chin on my palm. "So what do you think I should do about Hades wanting me to spy on that guy?" 

Morgan sat down, finally looking up from the remains of the basin. "Do it. He will believe your goal is to complete his mission and talk to whoever it was you wanted to talk to. This will distract him from our real project." 

"So I shouldn't tell Newt where I am during our eight minutes?" 

She snorted. "Your boyfriend's name is Newt?"

"Your cat's name is Dog." 

"Fair point. No, you shouldn't tell Newt. First, Hades would end the connection. Then he would be on to us and he'd probably torture you." 

"Aww, Morgan, you do care." 

"Shut up, Amelia." 

"Abigail." 

"Whatever. Now, there are a few things you need to know for Hades' mission. The person you're spying on, Rumplestilskin, is one of the most powerful people in all the realms." 

"Cool." 

Morgan shook her head at me. "No, you cumberworld! He's incredibly dangerous! And if he catches you spying on him, he'll torture you. Especially if he finds out you're spying for Hades, and especially especially if he finds out you're friends with Peter Pan!" 

Yeah, that sounded bad. "Not cool." 

"You need to be very, very careful, Allison." 

"Abigail." 

"Whatever. Now get out of my house. I have stew to make." 

~+~

I came back to the diner with my backpack and spirits much lighter. I had a real chance at this. I was going to escape. 

Gloria smiled at me when I came in. "Hi!" 

"Hello!" I waved before skipping up the steps two at a time toward my room.

Inside, I collapsed onto the bed and smiled. It was going to be okay.

~+~

When I imagined spying on Mr-Super-Powerful-I'm-So-Dangerous-Grrr-I'm-The-Dark-One, I pictured it being intense. You know, ninjaing through hallways, army crawling in the vents, that kind of stuff. Instead, Hades just made me invisible, dampened my aura, and put me in Rumplestilskin's castle.

Being a ghost was fun, though. I could float around and go through stuff, which feels super weird. So far, I could kind of make the wind blow, but most of my ghost powers were very undeveloped. 

Turns out that the Dark One is super boring, though, so I had lots of time to float through pretty rooms and try to make something move. 

Rumplestilskin spent, like, 80% of his time reading. And hey, I like reading. Books are great. But the thing is, I couldn't read floating over his shoulder very well, so I had nothing to do. 

Once in a while, some poor person would show up and cry and ask for stuff and then make a shitty deal with him, but otherwise, nothing happened. 

I floated through another wall, sighing, and emerging into the fifth library. There were 27- I counted. The house was excessively big for legit no reason. Most of it was completely unused. If I had a house this big, I'd give out rooms to the abundance of homeless pheasant people living nearby since there were TWO HUNDRED AND FOURTY NINE BEDROOMS. 

I drifted through another wall and down into the dungeons. Hearing a sniffling noise made me freeze. No one was currently being held captive. At least, not since I checked yesterday. But when I entered the cell where the noise was coming from, a girl was sitting there. She had brown hair and was very pretty, but she did not seem like a happy camper. 

Footsteps echoed on stone floors down the hall and the girl stopped making noise. The steps stopped outside the door and it swung open to reveal Rumplestilskin with a pillow. 

He tossed the pillow to her and snarled, "You're making too much noise, Belle. Use this to muffle yourself." 

As quickly as he arrived, he was gone. The door clanged after him and the girl, Belle, started to cry again. I felt really bad for her, but I knew that I couldn't speak to her. If I did, I'd blow my cover. 

Oh well. Sucks to be her, I guess. 

~+~

As the weeks passed, I was delighted that Belle had become the maid and not just a prisoner. She was very nice and with two people in the house, there were finally some conversations to listen to.

Slowly, but surely, I watched Belle and Rumplestiltskin fall in love. They didn't admit it, though, which was a bit frustrating but it made for good drama. 

I looked down at Belle, reading to Rumplestiltskin in one of the libraries. That was another bonus of having Belle around- she read out loud, so I could hear the stories, too. 

Belle tucked the ribbon bookmark between the pages and carefully shut the book. "That's all for tonight." 

"Thank you for reading to me." 

She blushed. "Of course." 

I rolled my eyes. This was totally Stockholm syndrome and creepy. Then again, I didn't have room to judge. Technically, Peter was my captor, so... 

"Goodnight, Belle," he said, his eyes swimming with admiration. 

She smiled. "Goodnight." 

As they parted ways, I decided to spend time in the dining room. It was big and I was currently working on counting every dot on the ceiling. 

I was just rolling onto my back when I felt a lurch and suddenly, I wasn't in the castle anymore. Instead, I was sitting in a booth at the diner in the underworld. 

Hades was across from me, sipping a drink. "Welcome back." 

I felt like I was going to puke. 

"Thanks." 

"What did you learn?" 

It took me a second to collect my thoughts after that magical transportation. I felt like I had just gone through a giant blender. 

"Uh, he has this maid. Belle. He's totally in love with her but he won't admit it. It's kind of pathetic, really."

Hades grinned, standing from the table. "Perfect. You've done well." 

"Wait, you don't want to hear the rest?" 

He sat back down. "What more do you know?" 

"Well, he really likes reading spellbooks during breakfast. He likes most meats, but not pork chops. He doesn't like visitors, he's very antisocial. His favorite shirt is this one with ruffled sleeves-" 

"I meant relevant information." 

"Oh. In that case, not really." 

Hades rolled his eyes. "Alright. Ready for your eight minutes?" 

I practically sprang out of my seat. "Yes!" 

Hades led me out the door. Gloria shot me a concerned look as I left but I just smiled to let her know that I'm okay. We went down the street and stopped outside Cleemart's. 

Hades waved his hand and the door disappeared. "After you." 

I stepped through and when I turned around, the door was back. "Why are we here?" 

"Well, I can't have everyone knowing I offer calls to the world of the living, now can I? People would never leave me alone." 

I frowned. This place was gross. There was still blood everywhere, though dried. Still, it gave me the creeps. 

The air before me shimmered and suddenly I could see Newt. He was gathering sticks and didn't notice the portal until I called, "Newt!" 

He looked up and froze when he saw me, eyes wide with disbelief. "A- Abby?" 

"It's me," I beamed, eyes tearing up, "It's me!" 

He threw the sticks aside and tried to enter the portal, but it just shimmered and he walked through it. "Wait, what...?" 

"You can't go through it, it's just for talking," I explained. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay." 

His eyes were shining with tears, too. "I thought you were dead." 

I winced. "I am." 

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to keep it together. 

"I mean that I'm dead. I'm in-"

My voice stopped involuntarily. I looked over at Hades, who stood across the room. He shook his head. 

"In where?" Newt asked frantically. 

"I can't say. What about you? Are you okay?" 

Newt nodded. "Yeah, fine. My limp is a little worse, but I'm doing alright." 

"How's everyone else? How's Minho?" I thought back to the battle when I helped him hide from the monsters when his leg was hurt. 

"He's okay. None of the creatures found him after you hid him. He's healing well. Most other lost boys are..." he trailed off. 

"Oh god, no!" I was crying now, pressing a hand over my mouth. 

"Not any of our friends, though." 

"What about Fire?" 

Newt furrowed his brow. "Who?" 

"Baelfire." 

"Oh, him. He was hurt, but he'll be fine. The creatures retreated and Delphilia is dead. Or, re-dead. Whatever." 

"I know. She's in hell." 

Newt's eyes widened. "How do you know? Oh my god, are you in hell?" 

"No, no, I'm okay, I promise." 

"I missed you so much," Newt told me through a choked sob.

"Me too. I love you so much, Newt. So, so much!" 

"I love you too! You're everything to me." 

The image of my boyfriend started to shimmer and my eyes widened. "No! Time can't be up already!" 

Newt looked at me fearfully. "Abby?" 

"Newt, I only had eight minutes!" 

"No. No, no, no, no!" 

"I love you!" I shouted at the image faded, desperate for him to hear it one last time. 

"I love you, too!" 

The image blinked out and I felt a deep hole open up in my heart. I had Newt back for just a few minutes. Now I was losing him all over again. 

I looked up at Hades and wiped away the tears. 

He smirked. "What a lovely reunion." 

"Can I do something for a few more minutes? Please!" 

He laughed coldly. "Nope. You're out of time." 

The god disappeared and I found myself back in my room, alone, in an instant. 

Shaking, I lowered myself to the ground and pulled my knees to my chest, starting to sob. Newt was gone. Again. 

I reminded myself of Morgan and I's plan. It'd be okay. I'd see him again, and this time, I'd be able to kiss him and hold him and never let go. I'd succeed. That I swore to myself. 

I would see him again. And no one, god or otherwise, was going to stop me.


	14. Chapter 14- Morgan

Morgan's shack was stiflingly hot as I sat at the kitchen table and waited. 

This wasn't uncommon. Morgan never stopped her own life for others. If she was making a stew or potion when I showed up, she wouldn't take a single second to help me until she was done. If I was bleeding out and dying, she'd probably finish sweeping giving me first aid. 

Dog was pooping in a small box filled with litter over in the corner. I was normally a cat person, but I had to admit, I wasn't fond of Dog. 

Within seconds, the entire house smelled and I felt like dying. 

Morgan inhaled deeply. "Ah. Smell that?" 

"Yep," I answered, trying not to gag. 

"Delicious. Did you know cat feces contain lots of undigested nutrients? Especially protein." 

That time I couldn't help the gag, but Morgan's back was to me, so she didn't see it. "No. I didn't. Why are you telling me this?" 

She shrugged. "You had a grumpy look on your face. Just trying to make conversation, Amelia, jeez." 

"Abigail." 

"That's what I said. So do you want stew or not?" Morgan asked, going over to the litterbox to scoop out the fresh excrement with a spoon and toss it in her brewing dinner. 

"No thanks." 

"It's the liver, isn't it?" She inquired, frowning at me. "You know, liver stew is delicious. Don't knock it till you try it." 

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry." 

"Fine. Okay, it needs to boil for a while, so let's get the basin." 

It had been decided that I would keep the basin and its parts with me. Morgan didn't want to run the risk of storing it at her house and I didn't want her to steal it, so actually, it was the best of both worlds. 

I removed the basin from my bag. Every time I came over, she added one piece to it. To describe the process as painstaking would be a vast understatement. Imagine trying to eat your favorite food, but you can only eat one bite every few days. And the rest of the time, you have to just look at it, unable to eat any more, but also unable to stop thinking about it. That was what assembling the speaking basin was like. 

We were about halfway through its reconstruction, which should have been exciting. I tried to be a basin-half-together kind of person, but in truth, when I looked at the partially built project, I felt like a basin-half-broken one. 

Morgan picked up one of the jagged pieces and pressed it into the place it was supposed to be, then muttered some Latin words. A faint blue light came from where the section was held and when she removed her hand, the previously split stone had fused together. 

"Thanks," I said, gathering up the parts and wrapping them up. We'd worried that they'd break more and we'd end up missing a tiny bit of the basin at the end, so I kept each segment bound in clothes or hand towels when they were in my bag. 

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" 

"Yeah. But, uh, you enjoy it. When should I come back?" 

She rolled her eyes. "How often must I tell you, cumberworld? There is no such thing as time in the underworld." 

"But, like, soon? Or not soon?" 

"Soon isn't real in-" She sighed, giving up. "Nevermind. Medium soon." 

"Gotcha. See you then." 

"'Then' doesn't exist either." 

I undid the countless locks and pushed the door open, waving goodbye. "Bye, Morgan!" 

"Whatever, Addison." 

That time, I didn't even bother to correct her. It wasn't like she wasn't going to call me some other 'A name' later. 

Speedwalking was the best option in the underworld, I'd learned. The slower you went, the more unsettling things you'd see. Not that I was unsettled, though. I wasn't. That would be crazy. But it wasn't pleasant to watch lines of dead children walk to dead-kid-school. 

There were good things in the underworld, though. Like Gloria. 

She smiled when I came into the diner. "Abigail. Want some food?" 

"As long as it doesn't have cat poop in it." 

Gloria blinked. "Why would it-" 

"Don't worry about it. Cheeseburger and fries, please." 

"Comin' right up." She wrote down my order and slid it through the window to the cook. "So, are you going to tell me where you keep sneaking off to?" 

I laughed, but it was forced. "Just trying to clear my head. Figure out which boy I love more so that I can move on." 

Gloria smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, hon. I don't know how to help you." 

"That's okay. I was actually wondering if I could talk to you about your unfinished business." 

Her smile fell. "What about it?" 

"You said that it's revenge on Peter Pan, right? Because he killed you?" 

"Not revenge, exactly. I don't want to kill him or hurt him or anything. I think... I think I just want an apology. And reassurance about... a family member." 

Such a Gloria thing to say. 

"An apology for killing you?" 

She nodded. 

"What exactly happened? Why did he kill you? And assurance about who?" I asked. I couldn't imagine Peter killing anyone as sweet as Gloria. This may not have been heaven, but she was an angel. 

"I had a son. A beautiful little boy. His name was Matthew. He was the most trusting, creative, loving person I'd ever known. But one day, _he_ showed up. He claimed that he suspected Matthew was some kind of magical believer, with a heart that he could use. Of course, I thought he was crazy at the time because I came from the Land Without Magic, so I didn't think it was real. I told him to leave, but he tried to take Matthew by force. Obviously, I couldn't just stand by and watch him kidnap my son. So, I fought back. He stabbed me. Right here." 

She moved the collar of her uniform down to reveal a dark scar just below her clavicle. 

I gasped. "Oh my god." 

"I choked to death on my own blood and he took Matthew away. I'm not sure what happened to him, but I like to think that he is well." 

The story twisted my stomach. "I'm so sorry, Gloria." 

Quickly, she wiped away her tears. "It's not your fault, doll." 

It was at that moment I decided that I would free Gloria from this place. 

~+~

After multiple painstaking weeks (that Morgan insisted weren't weeks), we'd put the whole thing together. Today was the day we were going to make our call. 

I poured the cup of water Morgan had handed me into the stone basin and set it down beside it. "Are you sure Hades won't feel the magical disruption when we make the call?" 

"Not if we only use sound. If Pan had another basin and we were making a full connection, he'd know. But we're taking advantage of any form of water near him. That won't require as much power." 

My heart was pounding in anticipation and nervousness. As much as I wanted to speak to Peter, I was worried. What if Hades caught us? What if he couldn't come to get me? What if he simply wouldn't? My presence in Neverland was what caused so many problems earlier. Maybe he would want to avoid any potential future complications. 

That was silly, I knew, but doubt was a persistent jerk. 

"Did you get something of Pan's like I told you to?" She asked. 

I nodded and pulled out a stone from my pocket. 

Morgan laughed. "A rock?" 

"We went to the beach this one time and had a competition to see who could find the prettiest one. He found that and won. I expected him to toss it away, but he kept it. Somehow it ended up appearing on my nightstand hered." 

"How do you know it's the same one?" 

"It looks the same and why else would it end up with me? The underworld or whatever wouldn't just throw me a bunch of sentimental stuff and a random rock. That wouldn't make sense." 

She shrugged and dropped the stone into the basin. After, she poured a few drops of something into the water. 

"What's that?" I asked. 

"Mermaid tears." 

"Oh." 

Morgan waved her hand over the basin and whispered some Latin words. Inside, the water shimmered briefly, and suddenly, I could hear waves, birds, and distant laughter- the sounds of Neverland. 

She nodded at me to let me know the connection had been made and I spoke hesitantly. "Peter?"

Silence. I tried again. "Peter? Can you hear me?" 

"Abby?" The water rippled when he spoke and I nearly burst into tears just from hearing his voice.

"Peter! It's me!" 

"What...? Where...?" 

"I don't know where you are, but if you're near water, that's where my voice is coming from." 

His volume increased and I assumed that he had moved closer to the water. "You mean this puddle? Are you okay? How are you speaking to me? Newt said he talked to you earlier, but I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or had some kind of grief hallucination... But you're here?" 

"Um, kind of. Not really. Listen close because this is very, very important. I'm in the underworld. I'm talking to you using a speaking basin but I can only use sound and I can't talk long or Hades will sense the magical disruption. He's the one that orchestrated it all. Delphilia, she was a girl here in the underworld and her unfinished business was to get revenge on you. Hades was scared you'd try to take over his domain so he sent her to hurt you. Or, well, me, I guess. The point is, he's the one behind the war, her return, my death, everything! It was all part of his plan to weaken you and I think he may try to conquer Neverland." 

"Conquer Neverland?" 

"He never said it specifically. But he has been doing shady things that suggest it. There was this mission he gave me. I had to spy on this powerful guy and in exchange, he gave me eight minutes to talk to Newt. Anyway, I think he's going to hurt the guy's girlfriend so that he'd be weaker, too. So that begs the question of why. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that'd push others around just because he was scared or paranoid, plus it has a high chance of backfiring. It just doesn't make sense. So I think he's doing it so that he can take over not only Neverland, but the Enchanted Forrest, and maybe even the Land Without Magic. Without people as strong as him, no one could stop him." 

Peter's voice sounded strained. "Wait, slow down. Who did you spy on?" 

"Just some guy in the Enchanted Forrest." 

"Abby, I have to know who." 

"His name is Rumplestiltskin. And there's this girl named Belle he's in love with and she's going to die if we don't stop Hades in time. Not only her but probably many others. A world where Hades is the dictator is not a world I want to live in; it probably would have tons of casualties. The point is, you need to stop him." 

"Not before I get you. If Hades has you in his territory, he could use you against me. I need to break you out." 

I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "Right. You can do that. From what I was told by a witch named Morgan, you can get in. The tricky part is getting out. But you have enough power that we think you can do it." 

Morgan tapped my arm and gestured to the bowl. 

"I can't talk any longer, Peter, or he'll discover me." 

"Wait! Please, just a minute more, I miss you so much." 

"I'm sorry, I can't. But we'll see each other again soon, okay?" 

"Okay. Hold on, Abby, I'm coming for you." 

Morgan flicked her hand over the bowl and the faint glowing shimmer over the surface of the water disappeared. "Well, it sounds like you'll be out of my hair soon enough, Angela." 

"Abigail," I corrected weakly, slumping down in a chair. "I can't believe that just happened. Do you think that Hades knows?" 

She shrugged. "I don't think so, but it's possible. If I get killed over this, I'm going to be angry, Annie." 

"Abigail. And you're already dead." 

"Fine. If I get tortured for eternity for this, I'm going to be angry." 

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, getting to my feet. "Do you want to keep the basin now?" 

"Yes!" Morgan exclaimed, removing the rock and pulling it close to her. 

I laughed, taking the ston. "Okay, then. It's all yours. Have fun." 

"I hope your savior shows up soon, Adeline." 

"Abigail."


End file.
